The White Dress
by ghostfacekiller39
Summary: Fluttershy is nominated to be a contestant for a pageant in Canterlot, but when Rarity makes a mistake while working on the dresses for everypony to wear when they go to support their shy and somewhat unwilling friend, it causes her to have to re-examine her love life, creating a new, demonic threat. Rated T because of dark themes and a femmeslash pairing. About 95% Rarity Centric.
1. Subconcious Mistakes

CHAPTER 1

* * *

A gentle, rather sophisticated hum sounded throughout the Carousel Boutique as a vast assortment of pins, needles, scissors and measuring tape hovered around Ponyville's resident fashonista/seamstress while she put the finishing touches on her own Avant-garde styled gown she had prepared, along with four others for her friends, as they all had a formal affair to attend in Canterlot later on that week.

The humming stopped, and Rarity let out an excited, somewhat overdone, shriek as she turned to face her pet cat Opal, who woke up from her nap with an irate glare at her owner.

"Oh, Opal!" The cat let its claws out as it hissed in annoyance, although Rarity was much too consumed as to what she was working on. "Can you believe it!? Fluttershy's been asked to participate in the Miss Nature Pageant in Canterlot!"

A grimacing frown that almost screamed _'You've already told me this 100 times!" _spread across the grumpy feline's face.

But Rarity just kept on as she went back and forth to gather the supplies needed for put the finishing touches on her own dress. "Of course, she didn't want to participate, but I simply couldn't allow it, Opal! This is the opportunity of a lifetime for her! What kind of friend would I be if I allowed her to let it pass by?"

Opalesence glared at her owner gloomily enough to capture her attention this time, causing Rarity to just freeze in place, the tools of her trade floating around her, shrouded in a blue Aura caused by her horn, while she herself had a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.

After an awkward moment of silence between the two, Rarity picked herself back up and walked back over to her work station. "Oh, Opal, please. It's not just because the pageant is happening in Canterlot; I just want to be a good friend to Fluttershy! Besides, if I show up to support my friend, and Canterlot's elite just so happen to see me, the gems adorning my gown flashing in the bright lights of the pageant, and are taken by my high-class looks, sophistication, and style, and are over come with the need to invite me and a few guests of my choosing to go enjoy the pageant from the luxury suites, than so be it."

Opal just rolled her eyes in response as the purple-maned mare made her way back to her own personal attire from the event nearly a week away; she had already finished the dresses for Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, and was saving Fluttershy's pageant gown for last. It'd take by far the longest, and although a part of Rarity wanted to make her own attire stand out more so than the others, she was still a loyal friend at heart, and she knew she was going to leave the metaphorical blood, sweat, and tears in Fluttershy's dress; after all, Fluttershy asked for her specifically to make the gown, and it could be what either won or lost her the pageant.

After a few more snips of the scissors and a change of a bobbin or two on the sewing machine, Rarity had finished her dress; she stepped back to look over what she had made.

Now, you'd expect it to be awe-inspiring, due to her ability at her trade, and it was quite the beautiful garment and would make anyone who made it proud, despite it not being avant-garde like she was aiming for. However, despite its beauty, it did anything but amaze her after she saw what she had made.

Why? Because adorning her mannequin was nothing but a white wedding dress.

Rarity took a step back in shock. Her eyes were becoming watery, but she was choking the tears back for all intensive purposes. Mostly, however, to prevent her makeup from running. She hadn't been aware of it, but she had been making this dress the entire time. She zoomed over to her drafting table to make sure that's what she had planned out.

Once she had arrived at the table and saw what she had feared most, the floodgates opened up. The melodramatic part of Rarity showed itself as it so often did. She laid down in a puddle of her own tears that had formed rather quickly, sobbing away to her utterly apathetic cat.

"Oh, Opal!" The cat opened its eyes with a witch-like roll. "Why? Oh, why!? My love life...I..I don't even have one! Oh, the pain! Oh, the agony! I'll never find my special somepon-y-y-y-y!..."

By this point in time, Opal had grown used to the Hepburn-esque unicorn's outbursts and just closed her eyes and went back to sleep as Rarity lay in the puddle of tears she had created, slamming her hoof against the floor of the Carousel Boutique repeatedly, yet gently, as to not to damage her well manicured hoof. As she wallowed in her self-pity about being single, a knock came at the door of the boutique.

She got up to answer the door, slowly creaking it open to see who was behind it. A soft, kind voice came from the other side.

"Um...Rarity? ...I've been waiting at the spa for quite some time now...is everything ok?"

She had gotten so caught up in her work and, for a lack of better words, emotional grieving, that she had forgotten all about her weekly spa treatment with Fluttershy!

Rarity put on her lady-like face before swinging the door open; "Oh, Fluttershy, darling, I'm terribly sorry; I just got caught up in making dresses, that's all. Shall we be off then?"

Fluttershy shyly nodded, and with that, the two ponies went off on their weekly retreat.

* * *

**A/N: This is my first MLP fanfic, and I'm sort of lacking confidence in it. I haven't really worked or even thought about these characters yet in this way. I'm sure this will improve as time goes on, but for now, if there's any improvements you think can be made, please let me know :P Honestly, I'm sort of uncomfortable with the whole Rarity-breakdown-fit, but I think it's in character, so I thought I'd leave it in.  
**

**Thanks! :P**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	2. That Four-Letter Word

CHAPTER 2

* * *

"I do say, Fluttershy, I think they seem to have botched my hooficure, don't you agree?" Rarity held up a glistening, pristine hoof with one small scuff on it; so small, it was nearly invisible to the untrained eye; the only way it was visible was if someone were to completely focus on it, as Rarity was doing at this moment.

It was as close to being an absolutely perfect day as anypony could imagine; the sun was shining, there were small fillies and colts running up and down the dirt paths of Ponyville, playing around in the summer sun; butterflies were in the air, floating freely along the light gust of wind. One butterfly just so happened to come down and find a resting spot at the end of Fluttershy's nose, prompting a smile and a cross-eyed look on her face, so she could be able to admire the insect's beautiful wings.

"Um...well, I think it looks just-" The butterfly flew from Fluttershy's nose as Rarity cut off her cartoonishly shy friend.

"Something must be done about this, Fluttershy. I simply cannot believe that somepony who claims to have qualification in her trade could make such an amateurish mistake; I mean come now, it's going to take hours on end for me to fix this! I don't have hours, considering I still have your dress to make for the big pageant in Canterlot."

Fluttershy looked straight down at her feet, her voice softening ever more so than usual; "Oh...yes...I almost forgot..."

They kept walking, side by side, having friendly conversation until they came to where they would go their separate ways; a 4 way intersection of dirt paths, two leading down to one another's homes.

"Same time next week?" Rarity asked, a friendly smile forming across her muzzle.

"...Of course..." Fluttershy responded in her normal, softer than a new down pillow voice.

"Very well, darling! Ta-Ta!" With that, Rarity turned and trotted along the path that led to the Carousel Boutique; she had to restart her own dress from scratch, after all.

Upon returning to the boutique, Rarity ran up the stars in order to restart her dress. However, upon returning to her inspiration room to find the lovely gown still resting where she had left it on her mannequin, she stopped herself short of going past her doorway.

She stared at the dress a moment more, but just turned and walked away with a sigh.

* * *

"Spike! Come on! You've put this off all day, and I need help resorting my books!"

It was that time of the year again, at least only in Twilight Sparkle's library; Summer reorganizing. Everything she and Spike owned lay spread out across the floor, ready to be re-shelved.

"SPIKE!" Twilight walked over to the bathroom door. "You've been taking a shower for the past 3 hours! How long could it take to get clean!?"

While she generally liked to think of herself as the type of pony not to raise her voice, her dragon's seeming reluctance to help irritated her just a bit. That, and he was using up all the hot water, and the thought of having to take an ice-cold bath later that night made her all the more annoyed.

"I'll be out in a sec! Just give me a bit! I gotta make sure to get under each and every little scale!" He said, yelling over the noisy pitter-patter of the water spawning from the shower head.

A knock came at the door.

Twilight groaned as she walked away from the bathroom door and across her messy home to see who came knocking. After arriving at the door, she turned and looked back at all the books spread across the floor, letting out a sigh.

"It kills me to have to do this..."

A pink light began to glow from her own, and soon spread across the room to all of the books, and in an instant they were all shelved in no particular order, much to Twilight's dismay.

With that, she opened the door to find her fashion-loving friend on the other side.

Twilight greeted her with a friendly smile. "Oh, hey Rarity! Come on in! Anything I can help you with?"

Rarity went past the door, looking around the room and such. It was true, she had come for Twilight's help, but she wanted to make sure no one was around to witness it.

After making completely sure there was no one else in the room at the time, she quickly grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and began to shake her, almost hard enough to be considered violent.

"Twilight! Don't think, just answer the question! Do you have any books on romance?"

Twilight, her thoughts ever so clouded by the question, forgot to realize that the books were entirely out-of-order, and pointed her hoof towards the section where all of her books on the subject of love would generally be, causing Rarity to zoom over to the bookshelves.

However, it was impossible for Rarity to hide her disappointment at what she found, and an utterly confused and shocked look came across her face.

"Um, Twilight, darling? I sincerely hope this is a joke; I hardly find a children's book called 'Everypony Poops' to have anything to do with my current dilemma."

Twilight blushed sheepishly; "Oh...you know, Summer reorganizing and all. Here, let me just sort through all of this..." Twilight started over to her bookshelves, Rarity just staying where she was already stationed, a truly weirded out expression engraved in her eyes.

"Ah, here it is!" Twilight triumphantly held a book in the air with the magic of her horn. "'How to love: Everypony's guide to finding that special somepony!' Is this what you were looking for?"

A meek smile came across Rarity's muzzle; "Ah, yes, Twilight, thank you kindly. Would you mind if I were to borrow this from you for a time? I'll be sure to return it as soon as I'm done with it."

Twilight just smiled warmly back at her friend; "Okey dokey! Keep it as long as you like!"

Being given the green light, Rarity took the book in her mouth and quickly zoomed out of the library all the way back to Carousel Boutique in an instant, leaving a barely audible "Thank you, Twilight!" In her wake. Before she knew it, she was in her inspiration room turning the cover of "How to love: Everypony's guide to finding that special somepony!" over to page 1, and read the title of the chapter aloud to herself:

"Chapter 1: What is true pony love?"


	3. Windows Fogged by Gray Mist

CHAPTER 3

* * *

An unsatisfied scowl came over Rarity's muzzle; "Who do they think is reading this? I know plenty about what love is! I just need a little help finding it, that's all."

She pondered just closing the book and returning it to Twilight at that very moment; however, something had attached her to red leather cover and gilded pages of the book. As insulting as the title of the first chapter may have sounded, Rarity decided to press on anyway; after all, it wouldn't have hurt anything to read a few pages, and it may even just help out in the end.

_Now, you may be thinking "Who do they think is reading this? I know plenty about what love is!" but be assured that almost no pony completely understands love; some may think it to be a closed affair between 2 ponies, or some may believe love can be anything or pony one is passionate about; regardless, the definition of love will always be classified as open-ended. _

_First, you must ask yourself the following questions: What does love mean to you? _

Rarity put her hoof up to her mouth in thought; just what exactly did love mean to her?

That question lingered around in her head for what seemed to be ages; she was unable to make much progress within the time period her subconscious seemed to be stretching out as far and wide as it possibly could.

10 minutes seemed like 30 minutes; something was getting in the way of the answer to this question, but right now, she knew she was going to be unable to answer it.

With a rather dreary sigh, Rarity closed the book and started over to her drafting table; Fluttershy's dress needed to be started as soon as possible, and hopefully she'd have some time leftover afterwards to re-do her own dress for the pageant; but for now, it'd just have to wait.

Rarity put her pencil to paper, starting off with the outline of a blank pony with Fluttershy's build. After matching hues and fabrics, deciding what stitches went where, and the whole complicated array of decisions that had to be made when putting such an ensemble together; it was far from being an easy task, considering this gown absolutely had to be of the highest quality if Fluttershy was to win the Miss Nature Pageant.

The work had managed to take that burning question off of Rarity's mind for the time being, which was a plus, beyond a shadow of a doubt; however, deep in the back of her mind, it was etched in flame (metaphorically speaking, of course); it was eating away at her conscious, like a starving leach sucking blood from flesh and bone. The fact alone that she herself was unable to answer such an open-ended question was enough to cause grief, and that grief was only multiplied with her status in Ponyville as a fashionista; she knew all about looking the part, but was that all she really knew?

Her thoughts ever so clouded by these doubts and insecurities, Rarity walked into her bathroom to look at herself in the mirror; she looked deep into her own eyes for a bit, contemplating taking off the makeup that adorned her face 24/7, and putting on her robe and house shoes and just having a lazy day, but eventually declined to doing the former; just because a pony was to have a lazy day didn't mean she had to do it without looking her best.

After putting on her personally embroidered robe and matching house shoes, she went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea; however, upon entering the room, a bleak, gray overcast found itself outside, floating around the sky in a lazy manner, as if it were to going to rain. Despite it fitting the mood and atmosphere of the Carousel Boutique at that particular point in time, it was unwelcomed, to put it politely.

Oh, the war was raging inside of Rarity's head; despite knowing all there was to possibly know about the world of fashion, she couldn't even manage to define what love meant to her; she had always tried her best to be generous and give more than she took, but right now that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact she had, up until this point, subjected her entire life to looking good; but what did that matter if she had trouble looking past that aspect of herself? What if she was doing that other people as well? What about her friends? Has she only claimed them as her friends for so long because of who they were on the outside?

Before she knew it, she was sitting at the kitchen table, staring outside the window in front of her at the rainy day that was only accented by what seemed to be a muted color palette surrounding her, crying silently into her cup of tea that she knew she wasn't going to drink.

After a moment or two, a soft knocking came at the door; normally, Rarity wouldn't want to speak to anypony at a moment like this, but some strange sort of gravity pulled her to answer the door that not even magic could explain.

After opening the door, a few butterflies freely and ever so gently floated inside of the Carousel Boutique, almost brightening the cold, gray atmosphere with their pink and yellow wings, and oh, whoever knew the voice of a savior could sound so soft?

"...um...hi Rarity...is everything ok...? I just came by to see how the dress was doing..."

An insincere smile found its way onto Rarity's muzzle. "Oh, yes, yes, Fluttershy...everything's fine..." she felt her smile twitch as she said that. "Come on inside, will you? I'll show you the sketches I have done..."

Fluttershy hovered in on her wings, her hair drenched and fallen flat from what was now a downpour outside; in all truth, the dress was exactly the reason why she had come over to the Carousel Boutique on that dreary afternoon. She knew Rarity, as talented as she was at her craft, did have some problems remembering what stitches to use in certain situations, but not that she was boasting or being arrogant; she was always willing to admit that her friend had much more of a design sense than she did.

Fluttershy followed Rarity back into the kitchen; "Um...Rarity? I'm sorry...but I thought we were going to look at the design..."

Rarity took a seat where she had been seated before, her tears still softly flowing down her face. "Fluttershy, darling...do you think I'm...shallow?"

Fluttershy flew around to the other side of her friend, who was doing nothing but staring down into a dark cup of tea. "Rarity...what are you talking about? You're one of the best friends a pony could ever ask for. Remember when that dragon lost half of his mustache? You gave him your tail to replace it! How are you going to say that's shallow? Or even know, you're pushing me to participate in the Miss Nature pageant, because you know about the opportunities it would provide me! How are you going to call that shallow?!"

Fluttershy, who honestly believed that this pep talk was loud, was visibly motivated, despite her voice being just a tad louder than it's usually hushed tone.

Rarity didn't look up; "But Fluttershy...what if I'm only doing that because it's in Canterlot? What if-"

Only once in a blue moon was Fluttershy the one the cut off another pony; generally the roles were the other way around.

"Rarity! Snap out of it! This isn't the you I know! The Rarity I know is strong, independent, and most definitely isn't shallow!"

Rarity looked up from her tea, her eyes starting to dry up.

"You...you really mean that, Fluttershy, darling?"

Fluttershy put her wings away and put her hooves on the ground, the high school football coach having left her (albeit, she still would've been a rather quiet coach, although she was yelling at the top of her lungs.), and the Fluttershy that represented the element of kindness found its way back within her. "Of course I do, Rarity. I wouldn't be your friend if I thought you were just using me."

Rarity felt her eyes watering up again, but this time, with a sincere smile spreading across her muzzle.

"Fluttershy...thank you."

With that, Fluttershy came in and gave her a hug, and once Rarity returned it, something happened; something that Rarity had been searching for the answer to all day long, but now that she believed she had found it, it worried her deeply.


	4. Catering to the Hollow

CHAPTER 4

* * *

It had been a little over an hour since Fluttershy had left the Carousel Boutique. It had been a trifle of fate, really; that visit ended up having extremely mixed results, all being at completely opposite ends of the positive/negative spectrum.

Rarity lay in bed, staring out the rain-clouded window of her top-floor bedroom in utter silence. There were so many feelings flowing through her veins right then; far too many to be able to contemplate them all, but a choice few still stuck out above the rest.

There was one particular feeling that was at the extreme of both ends of that spectrum; the moment before the walls surrounding her sense of self-being broke down: the moment when Fluttershy had given her that hug.

She remembered it vividly.

* * *

_Rarity felt her eyes watering up again, but this time, with a sincere smile spreading across her muzzle._

_"Fluttershy...thank you."_

_With that, Fluttershy came in and gave her a hug, and once Rarity returned it, something happened; something that Rarity had been searching for the answer to all day long, but now that she believed she had found it, it worried her deeply._

_They say it's impossible to time a single beat of the heart, but what they don't say is that when your heart skips a beat, time seems to stop around you. _

_For Rarity, that moment was nothing but pure serenity. Child-like feelings of joy and happiness overcame her from her hooves up to the tip of her horn, and at that moment she knew everything and nothing at the same time; life's cruel questions seemed to be answered, the tonic for all of Equestria's aches flowed throughout her essence._

_Unfortunately, it was only temporarily pacifying; these feelings of serenity and enlightenment went, and the cruel, black sense of reality struck her back down to Equestria._

_Those feelings only catered to the hollow._

* * *

Even now, those feelings, questions and doubts had been spinning around Rarity's head, like a tornado destroying everything in its path.

_"Was that what love felt like?"_

_"But it was with another mare! It couldn't have been love!"_

_"What will the others think?"_

_"What will Fluttershy think?"_

_"Oh, Fluttershy...you saved me, and inadvertantly made everything worse..."_

Rarity felt her head throb in pain, her retinas burning with a sense of...inexplicable emotions It was still early in the evening, but she knew she was about to go to bed; after all, she had all day tomorrow to work on Fluttershy's dress, she'd already fed Opal, and she had a horrifying headache to sleep off.

After all, she knew that if she kept worrying herself to death like this, she could get wrinkles and gray hairs; that would, without a doubt, push her beyond her limits.

But would she even be worried about how she looked anymore had Fluttershy not stepped in and saved the day?

Rarity quickly sat up in bed, grabbing her head tightly and letting out a high-pitched scream that echoed throughout the Carousel Boutique.

That was all she remembered before drifting off into a deep, dreamless slumber.

A ray of sun burst its way through Rarity's eyelids, bright enough to pry them open; however, she opened them slowly due to the lack of energy she was feeling at that moment.

When everything came into focus, she saw Fluttershy, flapping what could've been considered her angelic pegasus wings directly in front of the sun, with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle all standing around her bed, concerned, sorrow-filled looks etched deep within each of their eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** Now, I realize this might be a little hard on the eyes and a little short, but these chapters are something my AA friends and readers are quite familiar with: I call this a bridge chapter. A bridge chapter is one that explores what is going on inside a main character's thoughts after a critical event, while setting up the plotline for the next chapter. Sort of bridges a gap, so to speak :P

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who has read this story so far :D Without you guys, I wouldn't be able to keep things going. Just know that I put a high value on your opinions, and if there's anything you think I should improve on or would like to see, I'm open to all ideas :P

Sincerely,

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	5. Watching them Drop from Her Side

CHAPTER 5

* * *

The 5 ponies whom Rarity cared for so deeply, whether her care for them was platonic or not, either stood or flew around her bed. How they got into the Carousel Boutique without her knowledge was unimportant at that moment; what mattered was why they were there that morning.

Pinkie Pie, staying true to herself, was the only one without a discerning look in her eyes, and thrust herself to a position to where she was eye-to-eye, muzzle-to-muzzle with the purple-maned mare, her tongue stuck out of her mouth in just the right position to compliment that goofily-friendly grin plastered onto her muzzle and that child-like look within her baby blue eyes.

"Hey Rarity! Fluttershy told us you seemed upset, so we came to throw you a party!"

Rarity sighed and got out of bed; Pinkie Pie was hopping up and down rather jubilantly, but the other 4 ponies seemed worried.

Rarity started over to her bathroom to prepare for the day; she had a lot of work to catch up on, and she could still feel the sleep in her eyes; closely behind her, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash followed her, Pinkie Pie still jumping up and down excitedly where she stood before, rambling on and on about what they were going to do at the party that would never come:

"We'll play pin the tail on the pony, and drink punch, and dance, and bob for apples, and drink punch, and..."

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other for a moment, Rarity walking into the bathroom ahead of them, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hovering behind them; unfortunately, they all 4 knew breaking the news to Pinkie Pie would have to wait for a little bit.

Rarity stared at herself in the mirror, while the blue glow of her horn encompassed all of the beauty products she was using to prepare herself for the long day ahead; she had forgotten to put curlers in her hair the night before, so a touch of hairspray had to be put on here and there, and her eyeshadow needed to be strategically placed to attract attention to her eyes, not from them, and the eyelashes would just have to wait until the others weren't in the room, and...

A heavily accented southern dialect spoke up from beside her, causing the array of self-care products floating around in the air to freeze momentarily.

"Rarity, is everything alright, sugarcube? You seem a little down in the dumps..."

Fortunately, no eye contact had to be made; all of the ponies in the room were visible in the mirror.

"Why, what would give you such a preposterous idea, Applejack? I'm just a mite fatigued from working on all these dresses for us to wear to the big pageant, darling; nothing more than such."

She began powdering her face, a false smile spread across that muzzle; lying wasn't one of her strong points, and she felt her heart dropping to her hooves as she misled the ponies she cared about so much.

Twilight was the one to respond this time, in a worried yet empathetic tone; it couldn't be called sympathy, because no one truly knew what was going on behind those deep azure eyes, other than the owner of those azure eyes.

"But, Fluttershy told us that she stopped by here yesterday, and that you were crying..."

Once again, Rarity stopped putting her makeup on to respond to something she felt she couldn't give a straight answer to, and considering that lying to these ponies in the room with her only made her internal matters worse.

So she didn't answer at all, her beauty products still hovering in place with that blue glow created by her horn.

Twilight and Applejack put their hooves on her shoulder, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy drew closer to their friend; they all planned on being there for her, no matter what.

It would've been useful knowledge to the one in the middle of the bunch to know that she was surrounded by ponies who cared oh so much about her well-being.

Twilight spoke with a smile; "Rarity, we understand your problems, and we're here for you..."

Rarity bowed her head and disengaged her horn, causing all of her beauty products to come crashing down to the floor around her.

"...Sympathy isn't your color, Twilight Sparkle..."

The other ponies all jumped back in a bit of shock at the harshness of her tone.

"H-huh? Rarity, what are you-"

Rarity closed her eyes, her head still bowed at her sink.

"Leave."

It was Applejack's turn to speak, although everypony in the bathroom, including Rarity herself, was feeling the same thing.

"Rarity, sweetie, are you sure that-"

A single tear dropped from the ivory-coated pony's left eye.

"Just...go."

Rainbow Dash, although it may have been more out of hurt than actual anger, turned a violent red.

"Come on, guys, if she doesn't need us, then we don't need her! Let's give her what she wants, and just get out of here!"

She zoomed out of the room, her wings flapping ever so violently, and in an instant, the always abrasive pegasus had left the Carousel Boutique.

A moment after Rainbow Dash's rather explosive exit, Applejack started out the door, her head down to where her trademark cowboy hat fell just over her eyes; as she approached the doorway, she looked back at the remaining three ponies standing in front of the mirror, and spoke her parting words, that thick, country accent especially in bloom, matching the shakiness of her voice.

"...You know, Rarity, I honestly don't think blue is your color...you might want to try to do something about that, sweetheart."

With that, she walked out of the bathroom, bringing a blissfully unaware Pinkie Pie with her as she exited the Carousel Boutique, the pink party-animal pony rambling about what the party was going to be like, ever so clueless to the gravity of the situation at hand.

Before Twilight became the third one to part ways with Rarity and make her exit, she dropped a line, just like the others; except this one was of a sweeter note.

"Rarity...when you're ready to talk, you know where to find me, but for now, I'll just leave you be. My door is open and waiting for you, whenever you're ready..."

Those words stuck to Rarity for some reason, albeit for a reason she didn't quite understand.

With that, it was just Rarity and Fluttershy in an almost empty boutique, Fluttershy ever so innocently fluttering above, making a descent to the ground to say a few words of her own.

"It's ok, Rarity...I know you're hurting right now...just know, things like this always work their way out in the end...no matter how strange their way of working out may seem..."

With that, Fluttershy put her hoof on Rarity's shoulder and gave her a small hug before hovering her way out of the Carousel Boutique.

And the body count in the room dropped by one more.

As Rarity buried her head into her hooves and began sobbing to herself, a black, gas-like substance began to form in the bathroom's air vent, nothing even slightly aware of its presence.

As it silently watched Rarity cry from the vent above, it felt her pain. It knew that the pony was being ripped apart inside. It knew everything she was suffering through; the fear of being rejected by Fluttershy, the fear of not being accepted by her friends anymore, the lost sense of self-being, the questions she had about whether or not she was a good-hearted pony, or just a shallow pony who cared about nothing other than who she and others were on the outside; it knew everything about her.

It knew the next crop was getting ready for it to harvest.


	6. A Rise Up from The Ashes

CHAPTER 6

* * *

It would've been overwhelming for anypony, really; having to sit by and watch as the ones you cared about more than anything else walked away, counting the bodies that left the room like sheep to the rhythm of the war march.

Rarity had started feeling ill; stress-induced nausea had started to take it's toll on her energy levels, and a migraine clouded everything she saw, no matter how magnificent it may have been; her head throbbed like a heavy heartbeat, trying to force clotted blood throughout the veins inside of one's body.

She needed to lay down, and quick; she knew she'd just pass out otherwise.

She slowly made her way to the bed, her vision blurred, stumbling all over herself the entire way over before finally crashing down on the bed, an unkempt mess; an uncommon thing for one such as herself, prioritizing her looks above all else.

That is, if that's who she still wanted to be.

She closed her eyes, slowly, gently; the sounds and trouble of the world dissolved around her as she fell into a deep sleep, her headache melting away as her slowly opened and shut her eyes one last time before drifting off into her own little perfect world; one free from all this stress she was feeling.

* * *

She couldn't help but wake up feeling relieved, as an afternoon nap can provide temporary relief to almost any ailment a pony might be feeling.

With a stretch and a yawn, she got out of her bed to make her way to the bathroom, in order to prepare herself for what the rest of the day had in store; she felt some apologizing had to be done for what had happened earlier between her and the other 5.

With a little eyeshadow here, some mascara there, and a brush of the hair, she was prepared for what Equestria had in store for her that day.

She rushed down the stairs, skipping over one or two at time until she reached the bottom at such a speed that she wouldn't have doubted it for a second had some pony told her she had reached mach 3.

A driving force was behind her every hoof beat; the same force was allowing her to ignore the doubts and fears cycling their way through her conscious, telling her that her friends wouldn't take her back, that she had ruined it for herself, and oh, how powerful a force it was, being created by her knowledge that she was no longer fighting for the ponies she felt she had loved;

She was fighting for the ponies she felt she had lost.

Now, whether she had truly lost them can be left up to speculation, but in Rarity's head, she knew what she had to do; she had to make things right, they way it always should've been.

Nearly breaking down the front door of the Carousel Boutique upon her exit, she dragged her back hooves into the dirt path, leaving a skid before she began frantically looking left and right.

And to the left, there was the park, with none other than Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, all laughing amongst themselves; Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen, however.

The blazing speed in her hooves had blown away with the gentle summer breeze, but the burning desire to set things right with her friends had yet to leave.

Meekly, and ever so gently, she began walking over to where they all sat, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack watching as Pinkie did some comedic routine; Celestia knows what it was, (it seemed to be standing on a giant ball while spinning plates on a stick on 3 hooves and her muzzle) but it looked funny; dangerous, but funny, and as logic-defying as Pinkie Pie was on a daily basis, there was no need to worry about anything at all.

The ends of her mouth curved up in an ever so slightly manner, just enough to show the sense of inner warmth caused by her friends.

At least, she hoped they were still her friends.

She slowly yet surely made her way over to them, feeling their laughter with every step she took.

Pinkie Pie was the first to notice Rarity, as she slowly walked over to where they sat.

A bright smile and a flash of those big blue eyes came across her face as she tried balancing all of these things at once;

"Oh, hey, look guys, it's Rari-" She had lost her focus for a tad bit; unfortunately, that tad bit was all of the time in the world, and she came tumbling down from her place on the large, red ball.

Pinkie landed on the ground, doing a somersault as she landed, and sticking 3 legs and her muzzle out, catching all the plates as they came falling down from the sky, landing perfectly on the long sticks to where they kept spinning, causing all of the ponies watching to break out into applause.

Pinkie Pie, unphased by all this, still managed to finish her sentence. "-ty! So, how'd you like my performance? I'm trying to find new ways to entertain party guests! Isn't it just just fantcrediblesometastic!?" Pinkie said, a boisterous excitement radiating from her persona.

Rarity covered her mouth with her hoof, a sheepish look in her eyes;

"Er...yes, Pinkie; it was quite marvelous."

That wasn't a lie; Rarity truly enjoyed Pinkie Pie's performance. She was just nervous about what she had to face; what if they didn't want to take her back? What if-

They all were looking at her, smiling with a warm "It's ok-don't worry about it, it's all good" look to their muzzles.

"Howdy, Rarity!"

"Hey! How are you feeling?"

After Applejack's and Twilight's respective greetings, Fluttershy just shyly waved, that diffident, polite smile etched onto her muzzle.

That's when Rarity knew they were going to be there with open arms, ready to take her back in a hoof beat.

She bowed her head, visibly shaken and ashamed;

"I...I'm sorry for the way I treated you earlier, most sincerely; I know you were just trying to be there for me, and I know I was ever so rude about it; I shouldn't have told you to leave, I should have just accepted your help...even if I wasn't ready for it."

Twilight smiled, a warm, fuzzy feeling eclipsing her eyes;

"Rarity, it's alright; you just needed to be alone. We understand completely."

Applejack spoke up next, that country-bumpkin smile and look of utmost honesty was actually, somewhat, comforting.

"It's all good, sugarcube; we all forgive you and know you're goin' through tough times right now, and you can talk about what's botherin' you whenever you please, ok?"

Rarity smiled; a small tear came to her eye, and Applejack cam and put her arm around her in that 'ol-buddy-'ol pal way she was so akin to doing.

Fluttershy, ever so gracefully (and ever so exaggerated by Rarity's eyes) came up to her next, Applejack's arm still wrapped around her, and joined the hug; Rarity felt the tips of her long pink mane brush against the side of her muzzle, sending chills down her spine; Twilight joined in on the group hug, too.

But things didn't get serious until Pinkie Pie decided to "join in"; and if you think I'm saying that passively, you couldn't be more mistaken.

WHAM!

SMACK!

All of sudden, Rarity found herself at the bottom of a dog pile, literally down in the dirt.

A dead silence fell over the 5 ponies as Rarity examined the dirt on her always perfectly ivory hooves.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

All of a sudden, Rarity let out a cutesy giggle, letting the others know it was alright to laugh, too.

And they did just that in their little dog pile, laughing away as they watched the sun set over Equestria.

Yes, it is very safe to say that not even a little dirt could bring Rarity down from the top of her mountain at that moment.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I know this isn't a particularly good chapter to bring this problem up, and I also am aware of the fact I should probably put up a profanity warning sign in all caps, bolded, italicized, and underlined before writing this, but I really don't care right now. I'm sorry, but this needs to be addressed pronto. This is not for the weak of heart, but I'm dead serious about changing this. Or at least containing and minimalizing it. Just know that I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but I really am passionate about this, and I'm just at my boiling point with this. So, here you go: ****  
**

_**BE CAREFUL: A LOT OF NAUGHTY WORDS: DON'T SAY THIS AT HOME, KIDS.  
**_

**I'm really fuckin' sick of this bullshit about how Bronies and Pegasisters who have an overall favorite feel the need to just say such awful things about the other 5 fucking ponies. I mean, I keep seeing this shit on almost every fuckin' MLP discussion board or whatever I go to, and it's just fuckin' stupid. **

**I mean, Rarity is above and beyond my #1 pony. By far. But I don't go around talking mad shit about Rainbow Dash's cockiness, Twilight's Mary-Sueage, Applejack's stereotypicalness, Fluttershy's awkwardness, or Pinkie Pie's total insanity because they're not my #1! Damn, and I can break some hearts if I wanted to, but do you wanna know why I don't?**

**Because I respect the fact that every-fuckin'-body has free will. They can choose what they like, even if it's what I don't like. I mean, I'm not just talking about all the fuckin' Rarity flamers; I'm talking about the ones I see for everypony, and do you know why I care about this so much?**

**Because when I first became a brony, Rarity was my #1, naturally. I was so excited, too. I was in-fuckin'-love with the series. I watched it every time it came on the Hub, and when it wasn't, I watched the reruns on fuckin' YouTube. I was so fuckin' excited. Then, enter a day or two later when I saw my first Rarity flame. It made me literally-fuckin'-nauseous; like, I fuckin' threw up! and I didn't even want to be a brony anymore. It fuckin' bothered me that much.  
**

**And there's fuckin' flames for every pony! Total bullshit! There's probably some Fluttershy Brony out there, out there in fuckin' Hick-ass, Nowhereville, USA, catching shit for liking this series at school and then going home and getting fuckin' sick because some fuckin' cocky-ass little prick called Fluttershy a shitty-ass flyer and a fuckin' useless character on the internet, because they liked Rainbow Dash or Rarity some shit like that!**

**I mean, fuck! Don't we catch enough shit from everyone else for liking this series!? Why the hell do we feel the need to make it worse on each other!? We need to support each other, not fuckin' destroy each other! I mean, they're all 6 fuckin' best friends, but we divide up into factions dictated solely by which are favorite pony is! Why the fuck do we do that!?**

**And please don't go trying to over-analyze this in a review. I'm not in a happy, calm, laid-back, zen, "like, duuuudee" regular ghostfacekiller39 mood right now. This is unnatural fuckin' selection! I want to start an uprising against all of these fuckin' trolls, to the point where it gets whether they're attacking our #1 or not, we stand against them!  
**

**Also, I'm dedicating this entire fanfic to every Brony and Pegasister who's had their heart broken by one of these putrid, vile, worthless, useless, pathetic, weak-willed, cowards! **

**I'd climb a mountain to punch a flamer. I really would. Just one of those bitches, too, and I'd climb Mt. Everest. Just to punch one of these douchebags.**

**Alright, I'm really sorry if I offended anyone, and I love you all for reading my story. I thank you all, and just know, I never cuss like this. Never. I'm just tired of this.**

**I'm sorry for offending anyone, but I don't regret saying this. Thank you all for your time and please R&R.**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	7. The Lullaby of the Music Box

CHAPTER 7

* * *

It had been 3 days; 3 grueling days of self-rebuilding for Ponyville's resident seamstress. There's no doubt things had gotten rough for Rarity, yet with a little help from her friends, she managed to get by.

It's amazing what friendship can do for a pony, really; even at her darkest hour, after she had pushed them all away, they were all there for her, save Rainbow Dash, who was a mite bit hurt; yet, even the abrasive athlete did manage to come through in the end.

Finally, all seemed right in Equestria again, at least at the moment.

Rarity was putting the finishing touches on Fluttershy's pageant gown, humming ever so gently in the refined dialect that sounded simply divine as she snipped off a few loose threads, finally completing the look; she believed it to have been her personal best up until that point, and there was no doubt it was to wow at the pageant in exactly 3 days, 18 hours, 11 minutes and 29 seconds.

Not that she had been keeping track or anything.

"Opal, doesn't it just look...magnificent?" Rarity purred, her eyes widening with excitement as she looked over her fabric-made masterpiece, the jades she had embellished onto the forest green sections of the gown illuminated by the light. The shine of the gems reflected into her eyes, seeming like a lush, tropical rainforest with a million sparkling diamonds strewn across it's top-most canopy; even Opal's usually unimpressed, hate-filled eyes seemed to laud the design.

She was finally done with the gown that was sure to make Fluttershy shine in the bright lights of the Miss Nature Pageant in Canterlot, her pink mane and shy smile would walk...

She hadn't forgotten about her feelings for Fluttershy. Far from it, actually; it seemed as if her feelings of intimacy had grown stronger with each passing day. Everywhere the pony turned, she found something that reminded her of Fluttershy, whether it bore any similarities to the woodland pony or not; there was a little something in everything that reminded Rarity of the one pony she had so many feelings for, all locked away within the depths of her heart.

* * *

Fluttershy felt as if she had been zooming along the dirt paths of Ponyville to get to the others' respective houses; she was trembling with excitement as to what was going to happen that day:

The Great Hummingbird Migration was set to pass through Ponyville that afternoon.

Well, more so the Everfree Forest; the route they were taking was to go right over Fluttershy's cottage, and she didn't want to let her friends miss it; it'd be so fun, the 6 of them, sipping herbal tea quietly as they watched the Hummingbirds hover overhead in the clear blue sky; it was going to beautiful, magnificent, awe-inspiring, ast-

_SMACK!_

Stars and hummingbirds flew around in a circle in Fluttershy's now-blurred line of sight, and a voice reminiscent of a certain rainbow-maned pony echoed right in front of her face.

"Hey, Fluttershy! You should be more careful! You could get yourself and somepony else ki-...err, bruised flying down a dirt path like that!"

Fluttershy sat up, her eyes all derpy; "Hab bob gobbin..."

Rainbow put her hooves on Fluttershy's shoulders and began shaking, scrambling her eyes back into their regular place and her mind back to its regular set.

"O-oh...sorry Rainbow Dash...it's just the Great Hummingbird Migration is going to happen soon and I wanted to see if the rest of you wanted to come and see it with me; it'd be fun, watching the beautiful little hummingbirds hover overhead, their-"

Rainbow Dash interrupted Fluttershy, worry and actually a bit of remorse in her eyes.

"O-oh, sorry, Fluttershy, it's just, I have a thing, over at the place, where I gotta do...stuff. You know? ...Actually, the Wonderbolts are-"

Fluttershy nodded, eyes closed and a bit of hurt in her voice, but understanding nonetheless.. "It's fine...I understand."

Excited relief overtook Rainbow Dash, her eyes wide and bright, an excited, teeth-flashing grin plastered onto her muzzle.

"Really!? You don't mind!?"

Fluttershy nodded her head gently and sincerely, with a smile to match; "Really. I don't mind at all."

With that, Rainbow Dash just took off in a blue-and-rainbow blur, no parting words or anything, with Fluttershy sighing and starting over to Twilight's library.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy!" Twilight said as she swatted a parasprite away from her ear, yelling over the sound the whole lot of them were making. "I've gotta make sure these don't leave my library! It'd be awful for all of Ponyville if they did!"

Fluttershy meekly nodded. "I understand..."

With that, the sound of a one-pony-polka band came from behind her, prompting her to turn and face the other way to find Pinkie Pie huffing and puffing as she played a multitude of obscure musical instruments while marching to their beat.

"...I take it you're busy too, Pinkie Pie...?"

Pinkie Pie nodded quickly, a drop of sweat hitting Fluttershy as the pink-pony marched by, right on into Twilight's parasprite-infested library.

Fluttershy just walked away with her head down as she started towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, Big Macintosh had broken a leg and Applejack had to work double for him.

Fluttershy just understood before going over to the Carousel Boutique, her last stop before the Great Hummingbird Migration.

* * *

Rarity wound up her grandmother's gem-encrusted music box to give it one last go before putting it away until she needed it again.

It played its sad lullaby, as it did every time, being gentle enough to rock even a sadistic spirit such as Opal to sleep, yet soft enough to tug at Rarity's heartstrings as she wished she could be asleep herself.

She looked at the white dress she had spawned; no, the white _monster _she had spawned. It had caused her so much pain, so much sorrow; yet, the only feeling she could muster up right then was a simple _whatever_.

It was_ whatever_, because nothing could make things any worse or better every time she saw that dress. That dress did nothing but remind her of her own vanity and her lack of ability to know what love meant to her, and if she had ever thought about it; and what about Fluttershy? It was considered taboo in some circles, a mare falling in love with another mare, but she was almost certain that this was what love felt like. Whenever Rarity closed her eyes, she saw Fluttershy; is that what love was? Is this what it felt like? Just being in awe of being in that somepony's presensce, that somepony always being in the back of your mind, whether you want them to be there or not; and that feeling in your chest whenever they're around; that feeling that pulsated through your entire being as that one special pony crossed your mind.

Yet, it couldn't be love; no, definitely not. The worry, the fear; love was supposed to be happy, was it not? Everytime Rarity thought about her stole-away feelings for Fluttershy, the just became flushed with both good and bad emotion; and if it was love, then why all the bad, too?

The music box played its last note, and Rarity closed it shut before storing it away in dresser drawer she had set aside for such mementos that she had gathered over the years, in its rightful place in between Sweetie Belle's baby-blue sapphire adorned drawing and Spike's fire-red ruby.

That same, gentle knock she was immediately able to recognize from that gray, rainy day came at the front door of the Carousel Boutique.

Yes, there was not a single doubt in her mind that this was Fluttershy, waiting at the front door for her response.

Rarity made her way to the door, and before opening it, swallowed down everything that she had just been feeling, everything she had just been thinking about; she swallowed down everything and put her formal, lady-like face on.

* * *

"Ah! Fluttershy, darling! Have you come to check on the dress?"

A sheepish look came over Fluttershy's face, and she dug her hoof into the ground nervously; Rarity, just like the other 4, probably had something she had to do as well.

"Um...n-no, I just wanted to see if...well, the Great Hummingbird Migration is going to happen today, and I wanted to see if you wanted to come see it with me...but if you have plans, then-"

Rarity failed to contain her looks of excitement, and an ecstatic grin quickly spread across her muzzle, a sparkle found its way into her eyes, and she just wanted to scream to the world at that moment.

Rarity cleared her throat; "Hmm-hmmph. Where are the others? Aren't they coming along as well?"

Fluttershy looked down at the ground shyly again. "O-oh, well...they were all busy..."

Rarity smiled; "Well, no one should have to watch the Great Hummingbird Migration alone now, should they? Just allow me to grab the proper attire and we can be on our way."

Fluttershy smiled, and Rarity threw on her sunhat, and together they went, off to see the Great Hummingbird Migration in the Everfree forest.


	8. Hummingbirds, Diamonds, & Mental Fiction

CHAPTER 8

* * *

_"What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are small matters compared to what lies within us."_

_-Ralph Waldo Emerson_

* * *

It was a different story at nightfall, but the Everfree Forest was warm and inviting during the day; the small woodland creatures hummed to the tune of the wind blowing through the deep green leaves adorning the branches of each and every tree rooted into the forest's rich soil; the same soil Rarity was working extremely hard not to get on her hooves.

Rarity zoomed from dry spot to dry spot on the path, following Fluttershy back to her cabin; the dirt wasn't _mud_ still leftover from that heavy rain on that unforgettable afternoon, but, if hit her hoof at just the right angle...

Rarity shuddered at the mere thought of it as she continued dodging the moist patches of dirt for dear life.

"Fluttershy, darling!?" Rarity said, a noticeable tinge of anxiety in her voice.

Fluttershy turned back to make eye contact, a cute giggle escaping the warm, cozy smile on her muzzle. "Oh, don't worry, Rarity; we're almost to my cabin." Her excitement was radiating from her being, as evidenced by how her diction lacked any studders or pauses (albeit, it was still in the angelically-soft voice of hers.)

It was almost calming, but it was also hard for Rarity to ignore the beads of sweat dropping down her coat as she relentlessly leaped from place to place, avoiding the patches of moistened soil that lay in front of her pathway.

Why she still did this, she questioned; either way, she was going to get dirty now, with perspiration in effect.

* * *

Finally, after huffing and puffing her way through the end of the forest to Fluttershy's cabin, Rarity was able to stop frantically avoiding that evil, vile substance the lay on the ground beneath her hooves, the sweat building a damp ring around where her sunhat rest on top of her horn.

She watched as Fluttershy lay out a picnic blanket, basket and cooler on the ground, making sure it was a dry spot before taking her seat on it, prompting Rarity to go over to the red-and-white checkered blanket and lay beside her pale yellow friend.

"So...erm, Fluttershy? Are you ready for the big pageant in Canterlot in 3 days?" Rarity felt herself getting excited at just the thought, and that refined tone she always spoke in rose to the skies with a jubilant grin.

"Oh, it'll be simply magnificent! Think about it, Fluttershy! You, getting to be on the big stage, in front of the most-"

She looked at Fluttershy, who was just nodding along to Rarity's rambling, smiling intently as she watched the skies through the binoculars that were previously draped around her neck.

"Um...well, you see, the gown you're going to be wearing is absolutely fabulous! It really captures the whole-"

"SHHHHH!" Fluttershy shushed her, with harmless intentions; the hummingbirds were now in the sky.

"Nature...thing..."

_She's...ignoring me? For BIRDS!? Just a few measly little hummingbirds!?  
_

Rarity sighed in annoyance and pulled a nice, cold glass of lemonade from the cooler, and lay her head down in front of her hooves, glaring into the densely wooded distance.

_Birds._

_I'm jealous of birds._

_Hummingbirds, at that._

_Well, this most definitely isn't going as planned._

* * *

After she had taken the last, nice, long sip of her lemonade to soothe the full-on migraine that had worked its little ol' way into her head after 30 or so minutes of awkward silence and clear skies, a hoof softly nudged her shoulder. She looked over at Fluttershy almost irately; no, _beyond _irately; yet, Fluttershy wasn't looking at her back.

Instead, her hoof was pointed towards the sky, at the large charm of hummingbirds passing over their heads; they came in a palette of colors that were only exasperated by the glow of the sun and the skies of blue above them; it was truly a beautiful sight.

Rarity maintained a lack of interest, though; after all, this was supposed to be something they did _together,_ and she was just awkwardly sitting there, feeling almost brushed aside for some _birds._

She felt her teeth grit as she thought that last word_;_ she felt as if she could just slaughter every one of those annoying, parasitic creatures at that moment_.  
_

How dare they steal Fluttershy's attention from her; sure, Fluttershy loved all of the little creatures that couldn't speak back, and sure, they weren't dating or anything...

But still, the lack of attention made Rarity want to scream something along the lines of _"You're GOING to LOVE me, and you're going to LIKE IT!"_

No, that'd be uncouth and unladylike; she simply should just let it be known that it was inappropriate for her to just ignore her guest like this, and not let her know that just because she had strong feelings for her didn't mean that she was just going to be a doormat; still, she was feeling that way.

Yet, she just couldn't do it anymore after turning to Fluttershy, ready to put her hoof down;

It took breath out of Rarity's lungs; Fluttershy, her mouth slightly opened, with ends of her muzzle curved up slightly, her eyes sparkling with a passion as she watched the birds fly by over their heads, the colors of their feathers on the blue canvas reflecting in her eyes' widened state.

Her eyes shimmered in the summer sun as she lowered her binoculars; she looked so peaceful, so serene; it didn't matter at that point to Rarity whether she was in the spotlight or not; this was for Fluttershy, not her, and just seeing that twinkle in her eyes made it all worthwhile.

But that twinkle that Rarity found so breathtaking soon turned dark, and, all of a sudden, Fluttershy took off in a dead-fast flight; Rarity gasped, her hair nearly blown out-of-place by the speed of Fluttershy's takeoff. She quickly began looking all around for whatever it may have been to cause Fluttershy to take flight like that; she looked left and right, all over the beautiful portrait of hummingbirds strewn across a blue canvas; until she saw it.

A baby hummingbird was falling, no, _plummeting_ straight to the ground in a blue and orange blur, at such a speed that it'd turn into a feather and guts pancake as soon as it hit the ground.

Rarity watched Fluttershy take flight, hitting speeds that she had no idea the sheepish and timid pegasus could ever reach; it was well-known that Fluttershy was a weak flyer, yes; she barely got over 2 wing-power after back-breaking workouts, but the speed at which she was flying to save this young hummingbird would've made Rainbow Dash's jaw drop.

A pink and yellow blur swooped by, taking the blue and orange blur with it, and before she knew it, there was Fluttershy in front of her, a small black bird cradled in her front hooves.

"I...I...I...I...I...What do you think is wrong with it, Rarity!?" She looked up, her eyes no longer widened by joy, but widened by fright; she was obviously in a state of panic, which, in turn, made Rarity panic as well.

"I..I...I don't know! Good heavens, Fluttershy, you know about animals, not me!"

Fluttershy began looking at the hummingbird from all sorts of various angles, inspecting various sources of its body; a few moments passed, and the tension in the air was thick; she couldn't quite pinpoint why, but she was _worried _about this bird, and she desperately hoped it was safe.

All of a sudden, Fluttershy began pulling at its left wing; something was stuck in it; something that made the tip of Rarity's horn tingle; a certain shiny stone.

Finally, with all of what little might she had, Fluttershy yanked out a diamond; it had been jamming the poor little birds wing.

Fluttershy held the diamond in the air, it's luster nearly blindingly beautiful, a luster that strongly reflected in the gem-loving mare's eyes.

She wanted it.

No, she _needed _it.

But she couldn't just ask for it; no, that'd be impolite; and Rarity herself represented the element of generosity, so what'd that make her look like? A sham. That's what; a low-down, good for nothing-

Fluttershy extended the diamond holding hoof towards Rarity.

"...um...I know you like diamonds and all, and I don't really need it..."

Rarity sheepishly blushed. Was this real life? Or was this just fantasy? Was she really...?

Rarity subconsciously began digging her left hoof into the dirt, blushing and smiling at the same time. _The dirt. _She didn't notice this, though; her heart was racing at 500 hoofbeats per second, it seemed.

"Y-yes...thank you oh so kindly, Fluttershy, it means a lot."

Fluttershy smiled, taking a sincerely humble and gentle tone.

"Oh...it's nothing, really...what are friends for? I mean..."

All of a sudden, the look in Fluttershy's eyes changed; they were dark, cold, and cunning.

They were no longer Fluttershy's eyes.

Her voice changed, too; it was now an eery whisper that echoed quietly after every word she spoke.

* * *

_"...Miss Rarity..._

_...Miss Rarity..._

_...I reap..._

_...what you sow..._

_...don't let me starve, Miss Rarity..._

_...you couldn't let that happen..._

_...being as **generous **as you are..._

_...for now, Miss Rarity, I bid you..._

_...ado."_

* * *

And with one last echo, Fluttershy returned.

"Rarity? Rarity? Are you ok? You look pale. Oh, Rarity, I'm getting worried-"

"I-I'm fine, Fluttershy. Really."

She had no idea what in the name of Celestia had just happened, but it didn't matter; she had the diamond.

Nothing was going to take that away from her.

Nothing.

* * *

**A/N: Please know that this is a slow-paced story overall. The mood does change a few times, too. Quite a few.  
**

**Just please keep that in mind.**

**Thank you for reading. It means a lot to me, really.**

**If anyone ever needs anything, you can PM me anytime.**

**And don't forget to stand up for your fellow Bronies or Pegasisters, whether you agree with them or not.**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	9. The Keepsake Drawer

CHAPTER 9

* * *

_de·ni·al_

_diˈnīəl/_

_noun: denial_

_failure to acknowledge an unacceptable truth or emotion or to admit it into consciousness, used as a defense mechanism._

* * *

Rarity merrily hopped through the door of the Carousel Boutique, diamond in tow; perhaps she could have it put into a necklace, or maybe she could put it in her drawer where she keeps her personal mementos; either way, the diamond was there to stay.

She had forced that strange possession into the back of her mind, almost in denial about the supernatural event; she had no questions about it.

It never even happened; yes, all that happened, as far as she was concerned, was that she went to watch hummingbirds with Fluttershy and she gave her that diamond after saving that bird. Nothing more, nothing less.

Certainly no strange, demonic possessions or anything of the sort.

Rarity trotted up the stairs, a twitching smile spread from end to end of her muzzle; her head throbbing every time her hoof hit one of the steps on the pink staircase. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, the lepers in her head kept repeating the echoing whispers from earlier, as if it were the infectious chorus from a feel good hit of the summer. Surely, that hadn't been Fluttershy; no, it couldn't have been. That voice...those eyes...it was impossible that it had been the Fluttershy she knew and loved.

Her head throbbed once, causing her to trip up the final step of the staircase to bite the beginning of the 2nd floor, a sharp pain coursing throughout her body accompanied by her peripherals darkening around her.

There was not a speck of dust on the white floors of the boutique, fortunately, and her diamond didn't get scuffed.

After lifting herself up off of the floor and putting her mane back into its regular style (it had fallen slightly out-of-place when she had hit the floor) and trudged forward to her inspiration room; the same room where the drawer was kept.

A slow creaking noise sounded out as she opened the door to the room where the magic was made (Opal was still sleeping, and Celestia FORBID that the cat be awoken) to see the dress still covering the mannequin; it had not been moved.

That white dress was the catalyst for all the events that had been set into motion for all the past few days; all the pain, all the suffering, all the self-deprivation...

Yet, it had also led to all of the happiness, all of the self-discovery, all of the...

At that moment, before finishing her thoughts, a startling realization overcame Rarity's thoughts.

She made that dress herself.

Her hooves and design sense were nothing but a martyr to the power of her subconscious, which lived vicariously through her, in order to make the dress itself. It was almost like the most real part of herself had wanted all of this to happen; like it was supposed to happen all along...

Like this is who she truly was.

She made her way over to the drawer where the diamond was to call home, completely unfocused on her surroundings; the thoughts of self-rationalization were bouncing around her head at the speed of sound, like bees in a jar.

_Is this really who I truly am, though? Is this who I've been? Is this even who I want to be?_

_Oh, but I do love fashion! It's my calling, my passion! Surely, that's not the message that was trying to be sent!_

_What about the...thing...with Fluttershy? Surely, that's not me! I'm no loon; sure, I have my moments, but I am sane! That's far out of the question!_

_Fluttershy...she has so much natural grace, so much elegance...I'm a little jealous, honestly, but yet, she makes it work..._

"Forgive me if I sound corny, but she makes it work because that's who she truly is as a pony."

Opal looked up, that _"I hate you, but I need you to survive." _expression that usually adorned her facial signals in full bloom; Rarity had spoken her thoughts aloud by accident.

"Oh, sincerest apologies, Opal! I didn't mean to wake you! Here, just go back to sleep..."

* * *

Opal understood Rarity probably more so than anypony in all of Equestria, to the point of almost knowing what she was thinking at all times, and almost to the point of feeling the same emotions; that's why she was so grumpy all of the time. Rarity's non-stop need to be dramatique annoyed her to no end.

So, despite knowing everything about her owner and what she was going through right now, Opal still blankly and apathetically stared up at her.

"What's that Opal? What are you trying to tell me?"

_Nothing._

"Are you saying that this is who I truly am? And that I shouldn't hide it any longer?"

_No. I really don't care, Rarity. Do whatever you think._

A smile of joy and relief swept across Rarity's face; "Oh, Opal! I understand what you're trying to tell me..."

Opal rolled her eyes; _I really don't think you do._

"...But what am I to do about it? How am I to handle this? Should I confess Fluttershy? Maybe I should just confide in a friend..."

_Ok._

"...But who should it be? What about Applejack? No, I don't think she'd understand these feelings very well...Pinkie Pie?"

By this point in time, the always hate-filled cat what getting extremely annoyed; she flashed her claws and began hissing at her owner, trying for dear life to end this conversation she found so dreadful.

Rarity just kept on, however, blissfully ignorant of her cat's obviously irritated demeanor.

"...Right, Opal, I don't think Pinkie would be the best bet..."

Rarity's idea face sprung up out of nowhere, the metaphorical light bulb switching on inside her head.

"What about Twilight? She's definitely always been a good one to talk to about things."

Opal just snidely responded to that question in her own mind.

_Oh, I'm being flooded by feelings of...apathy. I need to lay down before this becomes to much for me to bear._

* * *

Opal, true to her word, did just that, as Rarity smiled gratefully at Opal for her advice and took off to go to Twilight's library, hoping getting these feelings off of her mind to a sympathetic friend would ease this stress (and, not that she was going to speak up about it, but the freaky migraines and the strange hallucinations.)

She left the diamond resting in the drawer that also housed Spike's Fire Ruby, Sweetie Belle's Sapphire Portrait, the Music Box, and the other countless mementos she had found over the years that she knew she would never get rid of.

* * *

**A/N: Bridge Chapter.**

**I'm not updating as frequently as I did before, so that way I don't burn myself out writing this.**

**I don't know, I was having a little trouble writing this one up, so I threw the Opal 3PL in to sort of lighten the mood and make it more relaxed for me. This wasn't really a major chapter, anyway; it was actually just meant to explore Rarity's thoughts and set-up the next chapter, which sets up the next chapter(10), in which a major event happens(11), that sets up the next chapter(12), then I'm going to do a Fluttershy-centric chapter for Ch. 13 that directly coincides with Ch. 12, so you could have a little more understanding as to how she feels about all of what happens. (You'll need it, believe me.)**

**That's what I have planned so far, and if you have any ideas you wanna share with me, just shoot me a PM or a review or something.  
**

**Oh, and as for rants like the one in Chapter 6, I don't know how often those will come up, but I've gotten some feedback in PMs and a couples of reviews, all showing support, and basically I just think that infighting is bullshit, and I was wanting to punch things I was so angry about it that night. Like, really, punch things. It still angers me, but just know that we shouldn't fight with each other when every other person is against us because of what we like.**

**Like, I was on an AA video on YouTube, and I said nothing about FiM, but my profile pic is of Rarity, and this idiot just comes on and starts trying to argue every word I say, just because of my profile picture. **

**I didn't say a single word about MLP:FiM until that guy brought it up.**

**We can't stop dumbasses like that guy, but we really shouldn't fight with each other, BECAUSE there's so many people like him that just want to start shit with us.**

**Yeahh, that's my views on that, and if I had a genie with 3 wishes, an end to infighting within our fandom would be #3 on my list. (More wishes would be #1, but if the genie said no, I'd just ask that bucket of barf for more genies. I'd win that war.)  
**

**Anyway, R&R, sorry about these Author's notes, I'm trying to cut down on them.**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	10. The Forced Spa Date

CHAPTER 10

* * *

"Um...Rarity?" Twilight said, trying to let the confusion in her mind seep out through her words.

"Yes, darling?"

Rarity didn't look over at Twilight, but it wasn't as if she would've been able to see her, anyway, due to the two cucumbers placed over her eyes, and the green mud mask that she could feel working its magic on her coat could've fallen out-of-place.

Twilight looked around; it had all happened so...fast. One second, she was in her library, devoted to refreshing her knowledge of the contents of one of her personal favorite works of non-fiction, _"The Art of Organization: The Average Pony's Guide to Perfect Storage"_, and then, out of nowhere, a strange white and purple blur came into the room, and before she could fight or even ask a question, she was at the spa, getting the full treatment.

All she wanted to do was to re-educate herself on something she already knew everything about. Why couldn't that be? It felt as if she were the fair maiden Juliet, being taken away from her informative-literature version of Romeo.

"...Why did you kidnap me from my home and take me to the spa?"

The way she worded that question struck a chord with Rarity; it WAS the spa, after all.

Rarity sat up and glanced over at the direction where Twilight's voice was coming from.

"Twilight, dearie, I just don't think we spend enough time together, and what kind of pony doesn't enjoy the...calm, relaxing atmosphere of a spa?" Her voice rang with pleasure at the last part of the sentence.

The spa was pretty much Rarity's home away from home; there wasn't a single thing she didn't approve of. The mud baths, the seaweed wraps, the steamrooms...well, there was that botched hooficure the other day, but that only happened about one out of a million visits, so she was willing that let it slide for the time being.

She never gave third chances when it came to her hooves, though; and would never, under any circumstances, give second chances when it came to her mane. That would've called for extreme measures.

Twilight looked around the room. How did they even get in without an appointment?

"Um...well, Applejack doesn't really like it here, and we do see each other every single day, Rarity."

Rarity got up and took the cucumbers from her eyes, prompting Twilight to follow her into the steamroom, speaking to her friend as they walked side by side; "Twilight, you should be more appreciative of the fact you're getting a free spa treatment, rather than be upset that you're here."

Twilight sheepishly look at the ground; "I guess you're right..." She picked herself back up immediately; "Yeah! It's not so often that you get a free spa treatment, especially not a surprise one! Thank you, Rarity!"

Rarity smiled, and nodded politely as they entered the large, wooden, box-of-a-room that was the spa's steamroom.

* * *

The embers burned in a black kettle in the wooden chamber, creating a hot mist that soon spread to every corner of the room, fogging up both of the ponies lines of sight; it was relaxing, but sweaty, and luckily the towel wrapped around the top of Rarity's head stopped the sweat that was flowing from her temples from passing through the absorbent fabric.

"So, Rarity, is there something you want to talk about?"

Rarity felt the muscles in her face tense up; _oh, Twilight, why can't you be more naïve?_

She began grinning nervously; she was unsure if the time was right.

No, she needed to confide; she couldn't keep it bottled up any longer, or else it would surely just explode in the worst possible way.

But, it could wait, could it not? Opal gave such sage advice, yes, but not once did she say it _had _to be today, did she?

_...What exactly did Opal say? Oh, surely she said something helpful..._

Twilight perked up, her eyes widened with curiosity at her startling realization (she once read a book about using deductive reasoning and logic to piece together things that would otherwise be hard to figure out, and that knowledge was finally being able to be made use of...it'd taken longer than expected, but it was worth it.)

"Rarity...don't tell me what I think you're about to tell me..."

Yes, Twilight knew everything now.

* * *

Rarity blushed; it may have been the duration of the stay in the steamroom, but the sweat was forcing its way past the towel wrapped around her head, her heart racing as if it were a member of the Wonderbolts.

Twilight was glaring at her, a poker face even Pony Gaga would be jealous of spread across her muzzle.

"...Rarity..."

Rarity glazed at the ground beneath her hooves, avoiding any eye contact. Twilight...was disapproving?

_Twilight...I surely didn't expect this from you, of all ponies..._

_My sweetest friend...not accepting me for who I am..._

_...Twilight...why you?_

Then, the room brightened up from out of nowhere, and the tension had vanished into thin air, as if a magician had pulled a curtain over it in his act.

"Rarity...You found your special somepony, didn't you?!"

Twilight was beaming, looking as if she were ready to jump up, down and all around the steamy wooden box.

Rarity blushed. _So far, so good, Rarity. Just keep it together. Keep. It. Together!_

"Yes...oh, yes I did, Twilight...and it's the most magnificent feeling in the world! I want to scream it to the whole world! But yet...I'm nervous, Twilight...I'm scared...I'm scared of the hateful glances that I may I get...I'm just scared, Twilight Sparkle...but yet, I know everything will be alright...because these things always work themselves out in the end."

Twilight was directly beside her friend in a flash, her hoof placed around her shoulder. "Rarity, I don't see why you need to be worried..."

Rarity looked up. "...Really?" She turned and grabbed Twilight by the shoulders. "You don't think I'd get any funny looks or anything?"

Twilight smiled softly, sincerely, and a bit naïvely.

"No, of course not! I mean, how bad can he be?"

_...He._

"...Oh. He's not..." She felt her face turning red, so she looked directly behind her. "...He's not bad at all."

_Dear Celestia, Twilight, darling, you were so observant earlier...please keep it up, and catch my signals._

"Rarity, you don't need to worry if you don't think he's into you like that yet."

_...Really. You can realize that I need to talk about something with no signals, but not pick THIS up!?_

"Some colts are just a bit shy..."

That caught Rarity's attention, pacifying the soliloquy of screaming that she was inducing in her thoughts.

"...and you just have to make the first move. You're not shy, Rarity, and it may fall under the category of chivalry, but it's perfectly acceptable in this day and age. Just go talk to him."

Rarity looked up. "Oh, Twilight, you're ever so helpful, dear. But...but how did you know what it was?" _Or at least, half of what it was._

They got up, and started out of the steamroom; the walk-ins, unfortunately, weren't allotted as much times as appointed customers.

They walked out of the door of the spa together, side by side as they talked to each other.

"So, Twilight, you're telling me...I need to make the first move?"

Twilight smiled as they walked along the dirt path. "Exactly. You're one of the most beautiful ponies in all of Ponyville-if not the most beautiful. Top it off with a beautiful heart, and you're every colt's dream mare, Rarity, just-"

That was all Rarity needed to hear; with that, she took off in a dead gallop, back towards the Carousel Boutique, formulating, planning every move she was going to make.

She felt ready.

* * *

Twilight was left in the dust, finishing her sentence to an empty audience "-...don't come on too strong."


	11. The Trifle of Fate

CHAPTER 11

* * *

_"The only time a lawyer can cry, is when it's all over."  
_

_-Diego Armando_

* * *

It was a rather humorous ordeal for Rarity, in all actuality; there was confidence in every step she took, yet, she knew it was false and unearned.

It was just ever so hard to describe, really.

It was happy like raindrops on roses, yet disconcerting like that feeling you get when you take a best guess in front of the class when you were young.

It was strange; the melting pot of emotions were like small fillys and colts stepping on the glass shards of broken bottles on the brick-tenemant streets of her soul, but, yet, they kept playing all of their little games anyway, never begging the question _"Why?", _they just trudged along, cutting their hooves with every single step they took.

So why did she find this to be funny? Why was a grin plastered all over her face as she manipulated the diamonds on Fluttershy's garment, like a puppeteer would her marionettes, yanking the strings to set up the perfect movements for the plot of the story being displayed by the wooden dolls...

In her own mind, she just felt inexplicably giddy at the moment; she hadn't felt this giddy in a long while.

* * *

She was putting the plane that would drop the bomb together when she started reminiscing about the past;

The last time she had felt this inexplicably happy was when Sweetie Belle was born; during her mother's pregnancy, she felt cast aside, like a stray dog onto the cold streets. All of her parents' attention went to what had yet to come, what was growing inside of her mother, unborn, not quite yet alive and living in Equestria.

She had never really approved of her parents up until that point in her life; her father had been a bit of a lazy bum, working half-heartedly at the docks during the day, then coming home to watch whatever sport was in season, not moving from his favorite recliner, mustard stains adorning his coat as he snored.

Her mother was just so...so..._**brash. **_Oh, she was ever so uncouth, burning everything she put on the stove top, and almost never cleaning up after herself. Oh, and the shame in public! Always loud, too; there was no inside voice with that woman! Rarity would be at the market with her mother, and Celestia forbid that she saw someone she knew; not even a friend, most of the time! Her mother would see someone she'd only met once before and taking off to go scream hello, that obnoxious mid-western, nasal voice yelling, _forcing _looks of annoyance and ire from everyone in the market.

She always sort of figured that's where she picked up her affinity for neatness, sophistication, and beauty; the two crass slobs that made up her parents, and the pigsty they seemed to enjoy keeping as their home. Sure, her talent was finding jewels (that often went on the ensembles she created), but she could've just as easily been a jeweler or something and made a ton of money, while not putting all that passion and effort into what she did; but the love for fashion was born within her. It didn't just come naturally.

But, again, she was an only child until Sweetie Belle came along. She wanted it to stay that way, too; an unborn fetus of a filly was stealing everything away from her! At that point, and, possibly, at the only point of her life, she had been **beckoning **for her parent's attention; why, WHY did they care so much for something that was not even...urghh!

She promised herself that she'd unconditionally **HATE **her younger sibling forever; only when the mare in the moon let the sun fall down for the last time would that insolent _brat _be accepted.

Yet, when Sweetie Belle was born...it was quite different.

She didn't forget about the lack of attention she had gotten, how she felt pushed aside for that...that baby; oh, and she most definitely hadn't forgotten about her promise to hate her little sister forever.

But some promises just get broken.

Yes, Sweetie Belle got _unbearable _at times, but no matter what, she'd love that little filly.

She'd love that little filly until Princess Luna rose the moon for the very last time.

* * *

Finally, all was in place; Rarity had set everything to where the pieces would fall into the perfect place, creating the moment that she knew would be perfect.

Something, a dark feeling, was lurking in the shadows of her conscious, yet, she put it off; it wasn't going to be another Sweetie Belle; she was not going to be negative until she saw what positive impact it was going to have.

It was going to be perfect; the set up was exactly how she dreamed it would be, and she was finally feeling the strength to toss her doubts out of sight, out of mind. She put the finishing touch on the centerpiece of her trance-inducing vision of what every mare's romantic dream would be.

It was not only dream-like, it was realistic; it was like poetry in motion.

* * *

Finally, the gentle knock came at her door. The gentle knock she had sent for; the gentle knock that yelled out all across the Carousel Boutique, silently calling her name.

Rarity's heart began racing, the nervousness creeping up inside of her; but it wasn't a physical battle being fought here, it was strictly mental, and it was one she knew she had to win.

Oh, but it was ever so risky; it was as if she was playing poker, putting all of her chips on the table without knowing what she had in her hand, but, for some reason, she knew fate was going to let things fall into place.

"Come inside, Fluttershy!" She called out to the door, grinning as she did so. Her voice sang in a happy falsetto with her next words, "It's ready for you in the inspiration room!"

Now, she did not lie to Fluttershy, although she was under a different presumption as to why she was going to the Carousel Boutique (To get her pageant dress, naturally.) The rest was to be a surprise.

Another knock came at the door; except this time, it was to the inspiration room.

As if it were a still life portrait, Fluttershy stopped as she could peek through the door.

* * *

The shy pony burst through the door, a smile of excitement on her face.

"Oh, Rarity! It's beautiful! It's exactly as I imagined it would look like!"

Fluttershy looked at the jade-and-emerald encrusted dress from every angle, like a small child staring into the window of a candy shop; her eyes wide, a happy grin on her face filled with innocence.

Rarity confidently smiled; so far, it was going swimmingly, just as she had hoped.

"Well, darling, nothing's stopping you from trying it on." She said, playing with her mane in a way that was more confident than a school-filly would do, and the most sincere, lady-like smile was on her muzzle.

Fluttershy swiped the dress off of the mannequin, and turned to go try it on right then, right there. Rarity listened as the hushed tones of excitement came from behind the curtain where Fluttershy was putting on her new dress; it sounded like bird songs of chaos were playing from behind the lavender curtains, singing a tune of pure serenity.

The blue aura of Rarity's magic moved the final piece of the puzzle into place.

Fluttershy came out from behind the curtain, her gown shining in the lights of the boutique; it was breathtaking.

The bouquet of purple roses at her hooves caught her eye; Rarity felt herself begin to twitch as she watched, and finally, all those paranoid feelings of doubt and pain began to break loose within her, her hooves shaking, her smile twitching, her muscles tensed.

Fluttershy looked inside the bouquet, and found the centerpiece to the caricature of intimacy; a pink, heart-cut gem. A silent gasp escaped her; this could only mean one thing.

"Rarity...is...is...is it true? Is this..."

Rarity felt her heart pick up it's pace.

"...Yes, Fluttershy...it is."

Fluttershy leapt back in shock, dropping the heart-cut gem as she did so. It hit the floor, shattering into a million little pieces.

Once the gem shattered, Rarity felt something inside of her shatter as well.

"...Rarity...I'm...I'm..." The yellow-and-pink pony began tearing up.

"...Sorry!"

She took off, in a dead sprint towards the exit of the Carousel Boutique, weeping as she did so.

"Fluttershy! Wait!"

Rarity's cries failed to stop her.

She was gone, leaving a million little pink, heart-cut pieces behind her.

They say unrequited love is often just as hard for the rejector as to the rejectee; but at that moment, as Rarity cleaned up the heart-cut gem from the floors of her inspiration room, she knew that was impossible to be true.

* * *

**A/N: I really hope you can see why this was so difficult to write, having never written out a scene such as this in my time as a fanfic writer. This would generally be the point where they get together, but it failed to launch for Rarity.**

**This is crucial to the plot I have planned, just know that. Yeahh. Don't give up on this just because Fluttershy said no; fate has a funny way of working these things out.  
**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	12. Moonlighting Aside, Miss Rarity

CHAPTER 12

* * *

_"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." _

_- John Lennon_

* * *

It was all over.

Rarity look out the window in front of her kitchen table. Her make up had run from her eyes, creating powder blue tear streaks down either side of her face; the color had all but drained from her retinas, matching the shade of her lament for what she had just lost.

_It just had to be sunny today...isn't it ironic?_

She needed to go lay down; she could feel sickness was flowing through her veins now, having turned the page on that strange confidence she was feeling not too long before.

She had made her way through, knowingly unaware of the gray that was encompassing her home. It's appeal was found in it's unappealing color scheme; it just matched her soul.

The smell of something burning stopped her just short of the door to her room. She surely didn't leave the oven on; she hadn't turned it on once that day; but still, where was that smell coming from?

No, it surely wasn't the oven; the fiery scent reeked, as if a tanker of asbestos and formaldehyde had crashed, or like the smell of a thousand sinners burning, mourning their mistakes as they screamed to the sky as loud as they could, but all they could do was produce the smoke from where they were destined and doomed to spend an eternity.

It smelled...like fear.

All of a sudden, as she prepared to open the door where she felt she was going to spend the rest of her days, pure black smoke began out from under the doorway of her inspiration room; she watched in fear as it creeped up and danced around her head for a moment, before a sharp, pointed finger came and rubbed her underneath the chin, coaxing her to go inside the inspiration room.

She froze in place, and her knees began buckling from underneath her; however, she followed the black smoke into her inspiration room. For some reason, she felt as if she needed to.

She felt as if she **trusted** it.

* * *

Upon entering through the doorway, she found her inspiration room had mysteriously changed; everything was either black or gray, but the room itself had not changed; the colors were the only thing different.

The walls were pitch black, with a gray ceiling; the tiles on the floor alternated colors between the two, and everything else had taken on the same, somber theme that matched the rest of the room.

The windows were all gone and the light bulb burned gray, but the room stayed lit somehow, albeit in black and white. That is, with a single exception;

The far corner, where the black mist was emanating from had no light in the slightest.

The fear was rising from within her; her retinas widened, and she began huffing and shaking; this was not her inspiration room anymore.

A man's voice came whispering from the pitch black corner; it echoed eerily before he even began speaking, yet something about it was soothing, trusting...caring.

_"Don't be afraid, Miss Rarity...I assure you, you're not going to be hurt...as long as I'm here, that is."_

With that, a strange, black figure stepped out of the corner. He stood straight up, yet he had no legs; at least 50 tentacles of all different sizes pertruded from where his legs would usually be, but he didn't use those to walk; they just let him glide along the ground in a rather serpent-like manner.

His entire body seemed to be made out of some black, slimy substance with a variety of textures, which was visible throughout the build of his body. His left arm wielded a black scythe, and his right arm was a huge claw, at least as big as Rarity herself.

The claw, in contrast to the rest of his body, was solid gray, yet made up of the same textures, and it looked attached to his right shoulder by some-sort of gray substance that looked like tree roots.

And his head...oh god, his head was just that; it had the form of a head, but no face whatsoever; no mouth, no nose, no eyes, no ears; just the shape of a head made out of that same black slime that composed almost his entire being.

Rarity backed away in fear, shivering, fighting for the words to say and the breath to say them.

"M-m-m...monster!"

_"Shhhhhh...hush now, don't be afraid; I'm your friend, Miss Rarity."_

He began creeping his way over to her, causing that black slime that made him be to fall off of him, creating leach-like droplets of the slime that jumped up and re-attached themselves to him as he walked ever-so-slowly to where Rarity stood, frozen in place.

_"Miss Rarity..."_ His whisper cooed; his voice seemed to be coming from around him instead of his face as he grew closer.

Rarity, scared out of her mind, took off in a dead gallop towards the door, only to fall face first before where the door out of the inspiration room no longer stood; now it was just part of the black wall.

There was no exit.

With that, she flipped over and curled up into a ball, crying into her ivory coat, her back against the wall.

She was cornered by this demonic spirit.

She began crying; crying and screaming as he drew nearer and nearer with her every heartbeat; she was going to die, she just knew it.

Finally, the demon was directly on front of her, towering over her, scythe in hand, looking ready to cut.

"Wh...why are you here? What have I done? I'm...I'm sorry..."

She began crying even harder as that large, gray claw reached down for her head, razor-sharp index finger extended. She felt if go under her chin, and she took one last breath; she was certain she was going to die now.

All of a sudden, she felt her head being lifted up. Before she knew it, she was looking into where the demon's eyes would've been.

_"Miss Rarity...I am your friend. No need to fret. It's a shame, really, that your makeup had to run like this; you're so pretty otherwise."_

"H-huh?"

He handed her a handkerchief, which she immediately dried her eyes on, and made his way over to the white wedding dress she had accidentally made, prompting her to follow him over to where it lay, clothing the now gray mannequin.

He began walking around it. _"Such a lovely dress...it's a shame that it was what created all of this grief for you, is it not? Moonlighting aside, that is; I shouldn't have to elaborate any further on your...emotional trauma...you know it as well as I, Miss Rarity."_

Rarity began to speak, her voice ever so shaky;

"Wh...what are you?"

He began walking around the white dress, inspecting it from a different angle;

_"Let's just say I'm a farmer of sorts, shall we? No, actually, I'm more of a harvester."_

With each passing second, Rarity felt her heart slow down, and feelings of relaxation and relief swept over her.

"A...a-a harvester? Wh-whatever do you mean by that?"

_"...others grow crops themselves, and I just come to harvest them..."_

After that, his head jerked quickly away from the dress and over to Rarity's direction.

_"You still have no clue as to who I am, Miss Rarity?"_

Rarity shook her head slowly, and with that, a violent wind swept through the black and gray room, causing everything in the room to swirl around the harvester in a tornado-like circle as he announced his identity;

_"...I am the Harvester of Sorrow."_

* * *

Rarity sat up in bed, sweaty and gasping for breath. She looked out the window and saw a hummingbird fly by; Opal was sound asleep in her bed as well.

"Was that...was that all just a dream?"

She heard a faint whisper coming from her left side.

_"No...it most certainly was not, Miss Rarity."_

With that, Rarity let out a piercing scream that could be heard all throughout Ponyville.

* * *

**A/N: Welp.**

**The bad guy is finally here.**

**He's a complex villain I did a lot of planning for as to his personality; you'll see what I mean in due time, just probably not in this chapter.**

**Anyway, next chapter will be the Fluttershy chapter, which happens at the exact same time as this chapter, you know? Like, how _Games Ponies Play _and _J__ust for Sidekicks_ happened at the exact same time, but were two different episodes.**

**Anyway, yep, that's it. Oh, I'm debuting my new tagline this chapter.  
**

**Spread the gospel against infighting, R&R, and thanks for reading :P**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	13. Asarum

CHAPTER 13

* * *

_"It's not what you look at that matters. It's what you see."_

_- Henry David Thoreau_

* * *

It was enough to make a Pegasus sick.

It was sunny outside, the clouds were white, and in just the perfect position to let the sun's rays fall down, over the forest which Fluttershy walked through everyday to go back and forth from Ponyville and her home; the birds were chirping happy tunes, trying to comfort their obviously affected friend like a mother would her baby, singing gentle lullabies to paralyze the depression rampaging throughout Fluttershy's entire being at that moment. The small woodland creatures that gave her their unconditional love all hopping on Rarity's gown, patting her, trying to comfort her from this slaughtering pain within her chest.

It was sickening in of itself, knowing that the beautiful day and the woodland creature's care were going to all have to go in vain, sickening knowing nothing could help that fact, sickening...

The tears had dried and left sticky spots underneath her eyes, which she was becoming more and more aware of as she kept trudging along through the forest's dirt paths.

She still had that gown on, though.

Oh, how if her eyes weren't bloodshot due to the breaking of the dam that held the bitter waterdrops in place, how if she hadn't messed up the way her hair had been pulled back and carefully styled when she ran, ran so far away from the Carousel Boutique, how if the migraine brought on from her sobs hadn't been pulsating through her head with every step she took...

She would've never felt more beautiful in her life.

* * *

Once she had returned to her cottage, she shut the door behind her, and trudged through the crowd of staring animals over to her couch; she could feel the pity etched into their stares, although she didn't make any eye contact with them.

The only audible noise in the room at that moment was the animal's heartbeats, playing a song of sorrow as they watched the pony who gave them her undivided care and attention walk right past them, each of them having the feeling nothing could be done to help.

She continued up the staircase at a slow pace to go up to her bedroom, and although all of the animals eyes remained fixtated on her as she did so, only one followed; the one with pure white fur and a disposition of pure black; the only one not stunned enough by her lack of attention given to them, and the only one with the gall needed to be able to do so.

Fluttershy crashed down on her bed, and began crying into her pillow. Her sobs and wails began echoing through out the otherwise dead-silent cottage. The persistence of _her _memory kept pushing at the door of the cell she had locked it in, hoping never to remember, yet never forget.

A rabbit's paw slowly slipped a diary under Fluttershy's left front hoof, a quill tucked inside of the front page.

Finally, she let the prisoner in her memories break free.

* * *

_Saru..._

_Bullies had always been a problem for me growing up. My wings weren't strong enough, I was timid, weak, I carried animals with me nearly everywhere I went. I just loved those little creatures._

_Bullies...How I __**DESPISE**__ bullies...they don't realize the consequences of their actions until it's too late!_

_And Saru..._

_You might not have guessed this, but I was a timid little filly, and my only friend was Rainbow Dash...I was glad to have a friend like her, outgoing, brave, not afraid to stand up for weaker the weaker pegasi like me..._

_Asarum had just transferred to Cloudsdale High, but I'd be lying if I told you where she had moved from. I remember seeing her up in front of the class for the first time, her wings locked against her sides, shaking; oh, I felt so bad for her! She looked so, so scared! I wanted to comfort her, really; but I don't do so well meeting new ponies. I was scared, too._

_I can't help but shake the feeling that had it been me to welcome her first, she'd still..._

* * *

Fluttershy stopped that sentence midway through. She was simply unable to finish it. She couldn't finish the journal entry, period.

She thrust her head into her pillow, and kept sobbing even harder.

But there was one pony who thought about Saru everyday...

* * *

_ The new Pegasus was shaking up in front of the class; she looked so scared! I could hear some laughter from the two idiots behind me, too. I mean, come on! It was obvious she wasn't as good of a flyer as most of the Pegasus here, but that didn't give them the right to laugh at her! I should've laughed at those two, really, but the only ammo I had against them was that race that I __**totally**__ annihilated them in all those years back. _

_I mean, come on, it's not cool to make old jokes. And I was cool, so I didn't do it. That joke was lame when we were all still young, anyway._

_But still, a Sonic Rainboom! I looked so __**COOL! **__I know I did! It would've been impossible not to!_

_...Back on topic._

_The new one's name was Asarum. She was, I dunno, a little timid, not as bad as Fluttershy, but still, her wings were locked into place against her flank. Her mane was gray, and her coat was a lighter gray. She looked old to me, but I was still figuring out the differences between tones...and, up until that point, I had just thought gray was a natural color for a lot of ponies._

_So, when the teach sent her to find a desk, I thought it'd be nice of me to give her the desk right next to Cloudsdale High's star athlete, you know, give her some confidence. We talked a bit while the teacher droned on and on about whatever we were supposed to learn. She told me how pretty I was, and how she really liked my mane. My mane was a bunch of streaks of gray, anyway, but she kept telling me how much she liked the colors of it. _

_Whatever, she was telling me how awesome my mane was, so I took it for what it was._

_I always let her hang around me and Fluttershy, and whatever pegasus was there with us. I mean, I just felt sorry for her, you know!? I didn't know! Honest! I just though she needed a friend, like Fluttershy did! I mean, this was before we met Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie..._

_...Saru..._

_We started calling her Saru. Asarum wasn't a very cool name, but Saru? Awesome! That's what everyone started calling her. _

_Saru._

_Everday, after school ended, the three of us would fly home together (Well, I'd fly, Saru and Fluttershy would just hover until Fluttershy got home..) Fluttershy was the first stop, and I was the last; Saru lived about midway between us._

_Everyday, after Fluttershy went to her house, it'd just be me and Saru. Naturally, being as radical of a flyer as I was (I'm not that radical anymore, I'm just Super-Radical. No biggie.) I'd have to slow down so Saru could keep up._

_She'd always tell me how kind I was, how grateful she was to have me as a friend, about how awesome my blab of gray mane looked._

_Sometimes, I'd return the compliments. I'd tell her she was pretty, too, and she was awesome, and I was glad to have her as a friend, but she'd just blush and giggle or something, and then try to reject my compliments. No one was going to reject my compliments! So I kept pressing her to admit she was pretty...stuff like that._

_..._

_..._

_I didn't know..._

_She tried kissing me one day, when we were in front of her house. I...I didn't know what to do! She was...and I was...it wasn't..._

_I didn't..._

_Saru..._

_I...I told Fluttershy...and a few others...I..._

_She...she got bullied really bad after that...she'd...she'd cry..._

_...and mostly, I was the one making her cry...Fluttershy...Fluttershy chipped in a lot, too...I...I was surprised at her...Fluttershy isn't the type, you know?_

_I won't ever forget that scream, though._

_**"RAINBOW DAAAASSHHHHH!"**_

_Fluttershy...Fluttershy was calling for me..._

_I raced down the halls to see what was wrong; that scream...it..it sends chills down my spine, just thinking about it..._

_It was in the little filly's room._

_That's the first time in my life I saw color._

_I didn't see my mane or coat, or even Fluttershy's...I didn't see the colors of the walls, the colors of anything I'd been missing out on for so long..._

_The only colorful thing I could see..._

_...was pools of red, and the shiny razor being held..._

_...by Saru..._

_Fluttershy was crying, CRYING her eyes out. We didn't speak, we didn't pay attention to the crowd behind us..._

_"Rainbow Dash...it's all our fault..."_

_I don't remember anything else after that._

_I've been able to see the colors of Equestria ever since, though..._

_...but I don't know why._

_...Saru..._

* * *

Rainbow Dash never found it in her to forgive herself for that incident, nor did Fluttershy; they both saw it as the ultimate hypocrisy, Fluttershy having been bullied at Summer Flight Camp, and Rainbow Dash being the one who stood up for her.

What was going through their minds, what led them to drive her past her breaking point was a blur; they never were able to understand it completely, particularly Fluttershy; it...it just wasn't like her, and she knew it, so she couldn't help but beg the question _why?_

In the end, unfortunately, all that mattered was that Saru's death was on their hooves, and they both knew it.

Rainbow Dash still had nightmares about it every night, but, she left out one thing...

...one thing that Fluttershy remembered all too well...

The black cloud of gas that was floating in the air, above Saru's cold, lifeless body.

_...Saru..._

* * *

**A/N: I was stressed out earlier. But...after writing this up...I'm just sad...  
**

**I know I said this was to be from Fluttershy's POV, but, for some reason, the thought occurred to me that it'd work better if the Saru-Flashback was from RD's perspective.**

**Originally, it was supposed to be Fluttershy who rejected Saru, Fluttershy who was totally colorblind, and, along with RD, started the bullying...**

**Congrats, RD. You've just gotten yourself a major role in the fanfic.**

**Still, it's a RariShy fic, regardless, and the next chapter will be back to being Rarity-heavy, probably giving more of her background in a similar, yet different, manner.  
**

**Don't forget that Rainbow Dash was totally colorblind...**

**...don't forget Saru, either.**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	14. Like a Kiss with Open Eyes

CHAPTER 14

* * *

_"I've never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude." _

_- Henry David Thoreau_

* * *

_"She loves me..."_

_"She loves me not..."_

_"She loves me..."_

_"She loves me...not..."_

_I can remember the last rose petal hitting the ground, as it did every time I plucked the petals from a rose, playing that silly little game._

_Honestly, how does it even make sense?! It's just a luck of the draw, really, because each rose has a different number of petals._

_But...I always seem to pick the odd ones out, don't I?_

_I seemed to hit the genetic lottery, which I was certainly most grateful for; my parents were supposed to be quite beautiful back in their prime. I've only seen pictures...but my mother was quite the looker...as was my father._

_Although, you certainly couldn't tell that by looking at the two of them now._

_He was going to be the greatest athlete...no, __**stallion **__to ever come out of Ponyville High; the star athlete. Why, he's still probably about as strong as Big Macintosh is, and certainly more nimble on his hooves, bum leg to boot._

_Every college in Equestria wanted him to come play sports for them; full ride scholarships, head coaches, professional alumni, and even in one case, the dean of the college were all at his hooves, groveling before him, as if he were greater than Celestia herself._

_I, personally, hate sports. You get all sweaty, and icky, and dirty... and not to mention some are much too physical for a unicorn such as myself; I'm a fashionista, after all! _

_...but, as I am to fashion, father is to sports..._

_He never prepared for life outside of sports. He was so certain that he was to make a living off of it, and had his fate not been smeared by shoulder pads, he would've. _

_Ask anypony who knows a thing or two about sports; they'll know him by his first name alone: _

_Magnum._

_Contact can cause injuries, unfortunately. During one of his games, in a horribly unspectacular fashion, I might add, he was hit. His bone had snapped clean out of his leg, visible before the crowd, of Ponyville's own and our rival Fillydelphia's usually out of control crowd._

_It was the big game. He dropped the ball, and Fillydelphia won. Everyone in Ponyville turned on him, and to dig his pit even deeper, the leg injury had cost him his career; one by one, the universities that had been beckoning for him to go play sports for them began dropping him like a bad habit. _

_After graduation, he had nowhere to turn; he was cast aside by society, only having been accepted by anypony in the first place for his athletic prowess. He began working the docks from early in the morning 'til late in the evening to make ends meet until something better came along, usually stopping by a tavern or something before getting back home._

_Nothing better came along._

_When I was born...he was __**so**__ disappointed that I was a filly. It'd be safe for you to assume he wanted a colt to follow in his footsteps...I know that all to well._

_"But...but..but DDDDAAAAaaaaaAAADDD! I'm a filly! The other fillies don't play sports! The other fillies don't have their manes cut like I do! It's too short! It's UGLY!"_

_He wanted a colt; but he just couldn't accept the fact I wasn't one, that I wasn't going to be able to be like him._

_In our little house by the docks shelter my worst memories; mother and father, throwing whatever was in their reach at each other, the crashing of the airborne object being the only thing that was louder than their screaming..._

_...which in turn, were often the only noises I could make out as I hid under my blanket._

_It was always about how he was trying to raise me to be a colt...he just didn't want to hear it, always saying he was only doing what was best for me._

_When he finally did accept the fact I was a filly, he just tossed me aside, and offered very little to me. Even to this day, he pays little to no regard to me, unless I'm needed; the drunken bastard, why I'm even on speaking terms with him is strictly for her sake..._

_...because you know he wanted to try again, while mother was still able to conceive. _

_Unfortunately, that took most of my foal hood; while Sweetie Belle was in the womb, mother cast me aside as well, not out of a lack of interest, but she was tending to Sweetie Belle, which she was already considered to be a very difficult baby during pregnancy; it was only exaggerated by father's constant prodding to have her be a colt. _

_He took every superstitious precaution he could to make sure Sweetie Belle would be a colt. He even at one point tried using unicorn magic, but to no avail; his magic wasn't able to have any effect on that sort of thing._

_I was just there, Rarity, a black sheep, in a family of black sheep, but the head of the herd wanted only white sheep. Does that make any sense to you, darling?_

_It was during this time of solitude that I discovered fashion, and the art of design; Oh, how I loved looking beautiful! Oh, and the high life that the fashion world would spawn some of these designers into! It would have taken me far, far away from that house, into a world of glamour and sophistication! _

_Everyday before school, I'd spruce up my mane, put a dab of makeup on, and (this is just between you and me, ok?) put on a pair of false eyelashes to complete the look._

_Oh, and I wasn't just turning heads; I was snapping some colt necks...but I wasn't really interested in the colts back then, either, honestly...unless they had status and could save me from the life I felt I was doomed to have._

_During class, I wouldn't do work, I'd draw; not pictures, mind you, but designs; the dresses I was going to make, naturally. The dresses that were going to throw me out of that godforsaken home and into Canterlot, leaving my deadbeat father behind, with the foal that he'd make into a star athlete or whatever, and mother could just be happy she had another filly or colt to look after; with the way she was acting, she certainly didn't need me!_

_I hated all 3 of them, and nothing was going to change that. I hated my father, for obvious reasons, and my mother and that beast inside of her for causing me the utmost isolation and loneliness._

_I didn't care if they died. I was young and naive; I...I hoped the foal would be a stillborn. I remember writing that down in a diary somewhere...I'd write down the most awful things about the baby...it was pretty brutal, mind you; especially so for a pony like me._

_My exile into my room led to me making a ton of designs and even a few of my early works (which I'm not very proud of, so let's just say the design sense was there, but the actual putting it together wasn't.) That was positive, but it only led to more and more angst building up inside of me._

_I remember writing down a promise in one of my journals somewhere, that I'd hate the baby until the Mare in the Moon did something...I'd honestly prefer not to remember it._

_But...when I first saw Sweetie Belle..._

_I knew right then and there I was going to protect her. Protect her from what I had to endure because of that Celestia-forsaken drunkard of a father we shared._

_I'd have to look out for her, no matter what; even...and I shudder at the thought...__getting my hooves dirty._

_We didn't get along very well, most of the time, as I moved my way through high school, and she learned her basic arthmitic skills in kindergarten. She...urghh, she manages to strike my nerves shot nearly every time we meet, even to this day. I still love her though, honestly; I feel as if I have to take charge of her sometimes, given our parents, particularly father; after Sweetie Belle ended up being a filly, he became horribly introverted; they took a vacation recently, and that was the happiest I had ever seen the stallion (and, possibly, the most sober.) I'm quite happy to be able to say that he didn't try bringing her up to be a son, rather than a daughter, and I'm also glad to say that he let me go on with my desire to be a fashionista..._

_...although, I still felt the ill-fated effects of those days of my colt hood..._

_...should I have been ashamed? I mean, there were always questions as to why I never dated in high school, this I'm quite aware of; I'm also quite aware of the nasty rumours that spawned out of the fact I tried so hard to keep up my appearance._

_I guess I just wasn't really ever into stallions; sure, there were a couple of dates I went on during those 4 years, and of course I went to the fall-and-spring-whatever-they-were-dances, but it was often with a stallion of high status in the social hierarchy of our high school._

_..._

_What? Are YOU saying that you WOULDN'T have?! Absurd. I was in high school, darling! Isn't that what every pony does? Chase the dream of being the king or queen of your school? You'd probably had sold your soul to Discord during those days to be one of the popular ponies and get to wear that letterman jacket or cheer uniform (which, I had the liberty of designing the squads outfits myself. The gems adorning the PH on their flanks really sparkled under those Friday night lights.) _

_No matter how annoying you said they were, and how much you may have honestly disliked them, you and I both know that you wanted to be in their position on the food chain._

_...which is why I had to hide my delight at being the one to find the fit of the cheerleader's uni..._

_*A-HEM* _

_...Anyway..._

_Ponies bully for the most mundane reasons, often just because you're different, and they're too stupid to be able to wrap their minds around it. _

_...I was...I was scared._

_I hid who I truly was from them._

_Even as I grew up, I continued to do so._

_...until today..._

_I...I...I didn't think it would pan out like it did..._

_Maybe I knew I was going to be rejected, but...but just getting how I felt about her off of my chest was what I thought I could gain..._

_...I don't know.  
_

_Fluttershy..._

* * *

Rarity was sleeping in her bed, as night had long since fallen across Equestria on the day she welcomed a new visitor to stay in the Carousel Boutique.

The Harvester tapped the mirror in it's new room, creating a rippling effect across it; it had been tapping into Rarity's subconcious as she slept, a looking in view from the mirror. He needed to put an end to the bluff he had been maintaining about knowing everything about the unicorn; he really only knew about the sorrow Rarity had growing inside of her...it was going to be a cash crop, destined to yield results to last well past the next harvest, maybe even the next two or three.

But poor Miss Rarity...this was a unicorn he didn't really want to harvest.

The Harvester had been a pony once, too, you know; it wasn't as if he was totally emotionless.

_My days of pony hood...it thought me one thing._

_We all go to hell; no, we live in it everyday. Life is hell itself...but isn't it funny how they say hell is where all the ponies with hearts filled with black intentions go?_

* * *

**A/N: Whenever I get my laptop fixed, I'm thinking about making YouTube videos or something.  
**

**Just thought I'd share that.**

**They'll be MLP:FiM and AA related, probably just whatever I can think of. Rants, commentary, ironic pornography; just whatever. I haven't really decided or thought much into it yet.**

**I'll be showing my real face if I decide to do so, for all of you people who think it's cute to try and give me your chatroom names in guest reviews.**

**I moderate.**

**Maybe one day my YouTube account will no longer be barren of anything but me getting into comment wars, defending myself, other bronies, and all of brony-dom.**

**One day.**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


	15. Houses of Cards out of Twos of Hearts

CHAPTER 15

* * *

_41 hours, 13 minutes, and 17 seconds until the All-Equestria Miss Nature Pageant_

_2:46:43 a.m., Equestria Time_

* * *

_"Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and most of them will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, they have to touch it to be sure." _

_-George Carlin_

* * *

The Everfree Forest was a dark and unwelcoming place, especially at nightfall.

_Why does she have to live so deep in the forest? Ughh! It's muddy! There's dirt everywhere! And it's so...gross! And it's dark! Creepy! Eww! I hate darkness! I hate mud! DIRT!_

These were some of the thoughts running through Rarity's mind as she trudged along through the Everfree Forest, leaping from side to side of the path to avoid stepping in the mud patches, on twigs, and the like.

She knew she looked must've looked strange; it would've looked strange enough, her wearing a black cape, walking though the Everfree Forest at the darkest part of the night; this wasn't helped by the fact she was rampantly jumping from side to side in a serpentine motion, as if she were trying to trying to dodge invisible bullets, as if she were a loon or something.

She knew this was a time of utmost importance, but it wasn't important enough to her for her to get her hooves all muddy.

Besides, it's not like she was going to stop by Fluttershy's cottage.

No; she was going to pay a visit to a certain Zebra who might know a little about the situation at hand.

The Harvester of Sorrow had made himself at home in the Carousel Boutique; he was practically living there already, and she knew it. Not that she had too much of a problem with the arrangement; he seemed very trustworthy, for reasons unknown...

But, still, she needed to know more about him, and Zecora was the one who'd know; unfortunately, Twilight was not an option at this point...this was a situation that she knew Twilight would be all to involved in. It had to stay a secret.

It had to.

Oh, the teary look in Fluttershy's eyes when she said no...

...she looked _**hurt.**_

But...but it couldn't have Fluttershy as bad as it hurt her...

...try to read between the lines.

It hadn't been too long ago; her memories began getting flooded with thoughts of the heart-cut gem crashing to the floor. It was the match that was struck to incinerate her happiness.

It...it had to be what brought the harvester to her! It just had to be! The harvester was going to harvest her sorrow! He **IS** the Harvester of Sorrow!

...but she knew he was going to harvest her...

...and she knew that her being harvested would likely kill her as well...

...so why did she _**trust**_ him so much? Why did she feel...as if the harvester knew all of her pain?

_...do I even care about living anymore?_

Rarity quickly shook that thought out of her head; _No. I'm not some weakling; I'm Rarity! I can persevere through this! I can find a way out of this! I know I can!_

_...but...what if..._

_...Fluttershy..._

_What's the point? There's nothing I can do, nothing I can change..._

_...What if the others find out? What if they hate me? What if..._

_...I care so much about you, Fluttershy, but be damned! Why did you have to do this to me? _

_...it's not her fault, though..._

_...Still! She...she broke my heart...I'm afraid to walk this world alone, Fluttershy..._

_...was it supposed to be her? I mean, what if..._

_...what if I never cared about her at all? What if it was just lust? _

_No, I never cared about Fluttershy at all._

All of a sudden, Rarity's vision throbbed, and she saw a black fog that clouded her vision, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.

* * *

All of a sudden, after the Rarity found herself in her kitchen on a stormy day; the rain was pouring down at an alarming rate, and the windows were fogged by gray mist; the room was a bit chilly, but it was a warm, at home chilly.

She began fighting for words, but she couldn't speak; at that revelation, she realized something.

_...I've been here before._

_I...I should've recognized it immediately._

_...how...How could I forget?_

Sure enough, there she was; silently weeping into her cup of tea, Fluttershy lightly hovering at her side.

She couldn't help but watch the scene play out before her eyes once again.

_She didn't look up; "But Fluttershy...what if I'm only doing that because it's in Canterlot? What if-"_

_"Rarity! Snap out of it! This isn't the you I know! The Rarity I know is strong, independent, and most definitely isn't shallow!" _

_Rarity looked up from her tea, her eyes starting to dry up._

_"You...you really mean that, Fluttershy, darling?"_

_Fluttershy put her wings away and put her hooves on the ground.. "Of course I do, Rarity. I wouldn't be your friend if I didn't thought you were just using me."_

_She remember having felt her eyes watering up again, but this time, they were happy, with a sincere smile spreading across her muzzle._

_"Fluttershy...thank you."_

_With that, Fluttershy came in and gave her a hug, and once Rarity returned it, something happened; something that Rarity had been searching for the answer to all day long, but now that she believed she had found it, it worried her deeply._

She started feeling something else at that moment; something that she hadn't felt the first time through.

She felt it; her heart sped up at that moment, naturally.

_**...but Fluttershy's slowed down.**_

_**Fluttershy's slowed down, and hers sped up...**_

_**At that moment in time, both of their hearts had been beating in unison.**_

* * *

With that, Rarity found herself thrust back into the real world, in front of Zecora's doorstep, no less.

The door to the hut opened, and the wise zebra stepped out.

_"Lady Rarity, please, come inside!_

_Allow me to help you find, what has made you so teary-eyed!"_

With that, Rarity stepped inside of Zecora's hut; it was strange how she had gotten there so quickly, yet, if there was one who wasn't Twilight but had knowledge of what the Harvester was , wasn't Twilight, it'd be Zecora.

* * *

**A/N: Bridge Chapter alert.**

**Yeahh, I've been pretty busy as of late, but right now, apart from beta-reading a story, I'm pretty free; I walked into this at 4 o'clock Central time with nothing but "CHAPTER 15, COUNTDOWN UNTIL PAGEANT, QUOTE" and below that, "PREMISE: RARITY GOES AND TALKS TO ZECORA ABOUT THE HARVESTER."  
**

**1 hour later...  
**

**Anyway, I'm gonna start planning out the rest of the chapters; by the end, it should have between 21 and 24 chapters.  
**

**Eeyup.  
**

**Until next update.**

**No infighting.**

**No pony bashing.**

**Stand up for other bronies and pegasisters.**

**Don't do drugs.**

**Stay in school.**

**Later.**

**-ghostfacekiller39**


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